The Hunt
by pippychick
Summary: Beginning with a weevil hunt, Jack and Ianto run into one PC Andy Davidson. Yes, there will be sarcasm. Chapter Eleven added on 13/07/09.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones and Andy Davidson do not belong to me. They belong to Russell T Davies, their wonderful writers, the BBC, and to John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd and Tom Price for bringing the characters to life so brilliantly well. Please don't sue me. I make no money from this. But John Hart was right. You do need a bit of blond in there. nods

**Author's Notes:**

Ok, I just have a few things to put in the author's notes for this one.

First and foremost, this exists at the request of PoisonIvy, whose ideas I have used in the writing of it. The second chapter is PoisonIvy's idea, and so is the request for some Ianto/PC Andy, which apparently has come to be known as: I am P Candy.

Second thing is that this will have Ianto/PC Andy. It will also have Jack/Ianto/Andy. Hopefully, it will have a lot of that.

Third. This may in time move on over to Jack's List. I'm not one hundred per cent sure yet, but I think so. It depends how the characters go about it. Also, the title may change. I'm not very good at titles.

But, since I needed to get the players into position, and since I've wanted to write a scene like this for a while, the first chapter (before Andy appears) is entirely my own doing. Jack and Ianto go weevil hunting. What makes you think that's a euphemism? Just imagine the testosterone! It must be off the scale, and whatever it would be like, I know I haven't captured it as well as I want to. Still, I hope you enjoy it.

**The Hunt**

Chapter One

He couldn't remember where they had left the SUV, and that always meant it was a good hunt. They crested the hill together, breath ghostly in the cool moonlight and the floodlights that lined the edge of the park. The distant lights were just close enough so that you could see the grass was green. Their quarry let out a low howl in front of them, just out of sight, and Jack asked his body for more, exhilarated when he got it. He didn't need to look to see if Ianto was keeping up. They did this together, and Ianto always kept up.

The muscles in his legs stretched out pleasurably as his feet fairly flew over the grass, to the top of the hill and then onto a flat area that was dotted with trees, where he slowed and came to a halt. He didn't take his eyes from it as it turned, backlit by the nearest floodlight, and snarled at them. Ianto was by his side, and without looking at each other they broke away in different directions, an unspoken and well-practised arrangement, circling to surround their prey as it growled.

The edge of danger made his lips curl back from his teeth in something was almost a replica of the weevil's snarl. It suddenly turned away from him, and faced Ianto who was now behind it before leaping forward in an attack that came from cornered desperation. Jack watched and fell into a crouch as Ianto narrowly missed being mauled, ducking and turning in some kind of graceful movement as he swung the hockey stick at the weevil's back. The solid hit resounded in the empty park as the creature staggered forward, then turned and launched itself at Ianto again.

Jack rose to his feet, hand in his coat pocket for the tranquilliser gun as he watched Ianto struggling with it on the ground, hockey stick horizontal against the creature to fend off its bite. His eyes took in the sight of Ianto as they rolled around, how slight his body seemed to be in those jeans and in comparison to the weevil. Ianto was on top, shouting inarticulately at it, but the creature was apparently strong enough to throw him off, and Jack cursed because there wasn't going to be a clear shot. Ianto was on his back now, arching up to throw it off as it slavered all over him.

Without any further thought, he was at them in a flash and pulling the weevil from Ianto with a roar of rage. He thought it might be possessive rage. He didn't care. He faced it, standing between it and Ianto and noticed the weevil's mouth dripping with blood. Was it Ianto's? He felt pain in his hand that he hadn't noticed. It must have bitten him when he pulled it away. He hadn't even felt it, and his anger increased two-fold. "Ow!" he shouted at it, though it was more a wordless cry of fury than anything else, shaking his bloody hand, and the creature narrowed its eyes.

They weren't even animals. They didn't even have that going for them. And the weevil proved it by ignoring his rage and lunging at him. Taken by surprise, Jack found himself being pushed back. Ianto must have moved, because Jack didn't trip over his prone body, and soon he found himself with his back against a tree, one hand on the weevil's neck to keep its teeth away from him while he tried to get the tranquilliser gun again with his right. He held the gun up uselessly, slippery and hard to handle with his own blood. But that wasn't why he couldn't use it. The weevil's bite had taken one of his fingers, and he growled at it again, actually managed to push it away from him for the instant Ianto needed to swing the hockey stick into its head.

They both heard the sickening crunch of bone under flesh giving way, and the weevil stumbled away shakily, still not brought down, listing heavily to one side like an elephant with a hangover. They didn't watch it after that, because they saw each other.

Ianto closed the distance between them, his body pushing Jack against the tree again as Jack raised his right hand that still held the gun and let his hand touch the side of Ianto's face. Ianto was the first thing his newly grown flesh felt. That was important to him for some reason, but he couldn't think what it was. Couldn't really think any more.

It was darker underneath the shade of the tree. He was aware the weevil had gone down several yards away in a more brightly lit area. Suddenly it occurred to him that he was allowing himself to caress Ianto's face with the gun, leaving an evocative smearing of blood that accentuated his cheekbone before Ianto was upon him.

Ianto was like a fire; out of control, restless and hot. Jack could smell the salt of his clean sweat and taste his adrenaline like it was his own as their lips crashed together. Their thoughts and reactions were quick as melted silver and hungry lust replaced the thrill of the hunt. He hadn't noticed the pain of the bite, but he could feel every hard inch of Ianto pressed against him. He was there at that point too, and quick as it was, everything slowed down for an instant when Ianto dragged their lips apart and grabbed Jack's wrist to slam his hand into the bark of the tree beside his head. Jack watched as the gun slipped from his fingertips in slow motion to fall in a soft thud amongst the unruly grass, and his eyes turned to gaze at Ianto.

His best dreams couldn't compare to the way Ianto looked at him then, and that little sound he made. Jack thought Ianto was possessive too, and he loved it. "What are you waiting for?" he managed, sounding almost human again as Ianto held him against the tree. "Take it," he challenged, and just had time to savour the spark of lust in Ianto's eyes before they were kissing again. Well, not really kissing, but almost eating each other alive right there in the night air. In the dark and the shade. Ianto let his hands go, and Jack was almost aware of what he was doing when he ripped Ianto's white casual shirt apart. For some reason the necklace intrigued him as his lips tracked down over Ianto's neck to the sound of their harsh quickened breathing.

They were pulling each other closer. So close it almost hurt, no softness between them, and their clothes were just more things in the way as Jack inhaled the scent of Ianto's lust and aftershave. Only then his eyes dropped to the clearing, where there was – bizarrely – a hockey stick. But no weevil.

"Shit!" Jack exclaimed, his hands tightening on Ianto's waist. There was a distant screech of traffic as they pulled away from each other, Ianto's torn shirt fluttering in the slight breeze. "It's still moving!" he said in disbelief as Ianto said nothing, backing away to pick up the hockey stick and taking a deep breath.

"Not for long," he said with certainty, and Jack grinned, retrieving the gun from where he had seen it fall. The blood was gone from his hands. He stared at them for a moment, and then noticed the smears of red on the white of Ianto's shirt. He licked his lips, and then turned his attention to the distant sound of traffic and police sirens.

"Let's get it," he suggested, and Ianto was already moving, running down the opposite side of the hill after the weevil that had escaped them. Jack ran after him, checking the gun. The street was below them, some anonymous club spilling endless people out into the night as the blue flashing lights drew even more attention. Several police tried to control the increasing crowd, soothing their panic as women cried and men pushed each other aggressively. It was another drunken night for them. Half of them wouldn't remember it tomorrow, and the other half would blame their imagination.

It was wonderful to be alive as they raced each other down the hill to the club where the weevil was. Jack tried to watch his feet and Ianto at the same time. Ianto's forward momentum had the torn shirt flowing out behind him so that every now and again there were glimpses of sweat-shiny naked skin and the merest suggestion of body hair.

Too quickly they reached their destination, and a couple of breathless cries of "Torchwood!" had them inside and stalking their prey again in the empty darkened club that smelled of alcohol-fuelled lust, sweat and a hint of sweet smoke.

Jack tried to keep his attention on his surroundings this time, and not on the way the blue spotlight on the dance floor defined Ianto's chest, turning the bloodstained shirt ultraviolet and royal purple. He wasn't having all that much success when a crashing noise came from the back of the club. They raced to it together, finding a policeman lingering outside the men's room with a small truncheon. Ianto pulled out his gun in favour of the hockey stick, and the policeman rolled his eyes before stepping back to let them go in after it instead. He seemed vaguely familiar to Jack, but he couldn't quite place him.

"She's fine," Ianto said quickly and efficiently to the policeman's indrawn breath, and something clicked in Jack's mind as the yellow-jacketed officer rolled his eyes again. Of course! It was Gwen's partner before she joined Torchwood. What was his name?

"Andy," Jack said, testing out the name, and the policeman looked his way. Away from Ianto. Jack noticed that, and tried hard not to stare at Ianto as well. He had a sudden moment of revelation. "Where's your gun?" he asked, genuinely puzzled, forgetting where he was for an instant, and the man let out a harsh-sounding laugh.

"Oh! I have to leave that at home when I'm on duty along with my rocket launcher." He raised the truncheon. "Police issue weapons only, which means I've just got this." Andy swung it experimentally through the air and nodded as if satisfied. "I can really hit things with it."

The sarcasm was lost on Jack after the hunt, and he stared for a moment. "Fine," he said eventually, frowning. "Wait out here. Don't let anyone in."

The policeman looked insulted and turned to Ianto. "He always like that, is he?" Jack was surprised to see Ianto raise his eyebrows in amusement.

"You have no idea," Ianto said. "He's like that until you get the handcuffs out." Jack spluttered. "Then he's worse."

"Hey!" he said accusingly as Ianto and the policeman stared at each other.

"Police issue?" Andy asked in interest, as if hinting at something. Ianto considered for a moment, then nodded.

"It could work," Ianto answered, not really in agreement but something like it. Jack folded his arms as they carried on their little conversation. He knew they were talking about him, but his body was still half-singing with the thrill of the chase, and it wasn't quite registering.

"I'm right here," he said, angry, and turned to Ianto. "Are we going in or not?" There was a loud bang from behind the men's room door, and Ianto paid attention again, that slightly amused look vanishing from his eyes to be replaced by the quickening of earlier. Jack thought it looked better on him at that moment.

"Sorry," Ianto murmured, becoming a man of few words again, raising his gun as he leaned back against the door with Jack. "Yes."

"I'll have the handcuffs ready for it when you come out," the policeman promised with a wink that Jack didn't get at all. It _wanted_ to be innuendo, but it wasn't quite there. Ianto didn't reply to him this time either. They turned their heads and looked at each other.

"Ready?" Jack asked. Ianto nodded.

"Yep."

"Go!" he shouted, and he kicked the door open as they went in together, guns pointed in front as they tried to cover every angle at once. At first glance, the men's room appeared to be empty.

To be continued...

**Author's Note:** Thank you for reading. I hope you are enjoying it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:**

Here is the next chapter. The writing on the wall is in answer to a request from PoisonIvy on torchwoodforum. By the way, most of my writing is posted there first if you're interested.

Thank you to my wonderful reviewers so far!

CrazedEnigma: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this next bit.

Lady1question79: Glad you're enjoying it. Thank you for letting me know.

Lady Da's Brain: Ah! Thank you! I feel very loved. I hope you enjoy the new chapter, which is most Jack/Ianto, but they will involve Andy, I promise.

In other news, if anyone remembers me mentioning the computer and it's random suicide attempts (blue screen of death), you should know now that it is completely dead. I am currently working on my laptop, which is rather old. I don't know how long it will cope with my demands, but it seems to be doing well so far.

Fingers crossed it continues to survive, at least until the weekend when I can get my hands on another computer.

Just realised (belatedly) that I should warn for mature homosexual imagery and content. But you knew that, right? You do know you're reading "M" rated fiction, don't you? I thought so (grins).

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**Chapter Two**

The door to the Gents swung shut behind them and there was a quiet click as it latched into place. Obviously, Jack's kick hadn't quite managed to break it. Ianto stared steadily down the barrel of his gun. The floor was dirty stone, and the walls were covered in old oblong white porcelain tile. On the left was an enamel urinal that ran most of the length of the wall, an unbreakable stainless steel mirror above. At the end of the wall was a space that housed a vending machine. Directly to their right was an alcove with one dingy pedestal sink, beyond which lay three cubicles. Jack pointed to the first silently with his gun, and Ianto nodded, shadowing him as Jack moved over to it and kicked it open. Nothing.

Ianto took the next, breathing slowly as he prepared himself and then shoved the door open with his foot, facing nothing but a toilet, though that was horrific enough, maybe even more so. That only left one more, and Jack walked behind him to reach it, gun held up in his hands as he spared a conspiratorial glance for Ianto. If it was in here, and it had to be, then it was in there. Jack kicked the door, and then just stood staring. There was no shot from the tranquilliser gun. Ianto peered around from behind him. Empty as well. Both of them looked up at the same time, to an open window set high in the wall.

"You've got to be kidding!" Jack exclaimed in amazement. How had it got up there? Ianto wondered if it was sheer desperation. It must have climbed onto the top of the last cubicle door to get out. That meant the hunt was still on, and Ianto found himself smiling slightly as he stared up at the window. They couldn't get out that way. Well, he might. Jack wouldn't. Not with that coat. Besides, he thought, staring at the window. All that grime, regretful at the mere thought. It'd never come out.

Ianto turned away, fully intending to continue the chase, and then stopped when Jack's arms closed around his waist. He moved a little to get free as they stared at each other in the polished steel of the mirror, their reflection slightly distorted by it. Jack didn't let him go, and Ianto breathed in deeply as he felt Jack's fingertips play along his ribs. He had known about his shirt, but it hadn't really occurred to him how easily Jack could touch him until now.

He leaned his head back and stole a hungry kiss as one of those hands trailed down his right arm to take the gun from him. He allowed that with his eyes closed. Jack would put the weapons somewhere safe. Jack's left hand was flat against his stomach, heat from his palm radiating out across Ianto's skin so that he felt some return of the lust from before in the park. He could feel Jack's arousal as well, and his breathing quickened, as did his blood, and it really wasn't going to take much.

"Jack," he said, trying to break away, aware that they had to move, knowing it wasn't over, itching to continue the chase. "It's still out there."

"And we're in here," Jack said in a low voice against his throat, keeping him still, "with a policeman guarding the door." Suddenly it was all too clear what Jack was suggesting.

"No," he said instinctively. "I don't want –"

"You're lying to me again, Ianto Jones," Jack murmured suddenly, and there was a blossoming of guilt in him, but it didn't hurt any more. There had been too many nights since then that were like this. Jack's hands slid down over the front of his jeans, on either side of him, just teasing.

"No, I'm not," he maintained, his voice slightly strained as the heat from those palms passed through the denim. He felt the surge of his own blood, and pressed against Jack's hands slightly. It was so easy for Jack to do this to him, and to make his need for action into a need for more.

"Liar," Jack whispered, and moved one of his hands to rub at Ianto, proving it, making him take a few sudden short breaths in. Now the focus of his attention had not escaped out of the window. It was in here with him. Jack was in here, and Ianto wanted him.

"Cheat!" he accused into the mirror, noting that despite the distortion, he could still see the lust in them both. In the mirror, which only showed their faces, they might have already been going for it. Something about that encouraged the change in perspective and he remembered how close they'd been in the park, remembered how raw the need was, because it was back.

Jack continued to tease him and only just got away with it. "Now say that as if you don't enjoy it," Jack challenged, and Ianto couldn't keep in the smile at all. He leaned back again deliberately, pressing his body against Jack and eliciting a sudden indrawn breath from him. Jack turned them around so that he was facing the bare bit of wall between the vending machine and the last cubicle door.

"We can't," Ianto said, thinking about how wrong it was, not meaning it at all, and not making a move to stop Jack as he undid the belt and the buttons on the front of his jeans, so desperate to feel Jack touch him properly that the thought of getting it almost made him help.

"Wrong." It wasn't an argument. That was what Jack's tone said, and Ianto almost regretted him noticing that the Weevil had escaped them earlier. It was pretty clear what was going to happen here now. And yet, it if had happened up there on the hill it would have been the other way around. His way around.

"We shouldn't," he said then, knowing it was inevitable and wanting it just as much as Jack did, wondering fitfully if there was some clean space on the wall for him to put his hands.

"That's better." It was approval in Jack's voice, and Ianto shivered at the purpose in it.

There really wasn't a clean space. "Jack, it's not exactly..." he broke off, suddenly seeing how filthy it really was as Jack slid the jeans down past his hips. They were tight, so they didn't go far, but it was far enough for their purposes. Yet the smell in here as well... he'd been too high on adrenaline before to really notice.

"What?" Jack asked, and Ianto wrinkled his nose.

"Hygienic," he finished, wondering if the sickly sweet smell of the solid air freshening blocks in the urinal made it better or worse. He groaned when Jack curled a hand around him, and looked down to watch what was happening as he leaned back. It was good. It was always good with him. Even like this, in a place like this.

Apparently, Jack concurred with him about the hygiene. "It's really, really dirty," he said in throaty agreement, and Ianto just took in a breath as Jack's hand squeezed him.

Something occurred to him. "You like that, don't you?" Jack didn't answer, and Ianto looked again at the wall. There really wasn't a clean space. He tried to look for the cleanest bits, even while he was being distracted. He knew what Jack was doing. Jack would make him come first, so that he was relaxed, and the thought made him want to hold back. Make it last, really make him work for it. But this was Jack Harkness, and even his hands were hot.

It was too much to try and hold back, after the chase and the fight. All of that came back to him as his body concentrated on the one thing. He almost groaned as he pushed himself into Jack's closed hand, using Jack's marvellous grip on him to get off. He just barely hit something at the forward end of the movement – Jack's other palm, such a dirty trick to make him lose – and he moaned out loud. "That's not fair," he protested, but he didn't ask for Jack to stop doing it.

After this, Jack would take him, and since they knew how hunting usually ended up, they'd both prepared for the eventuality. He cursed the weevil in that moment, because Jack would have been his up there, so easily. He'd almost been begging for it with the moonlight in his eyes. Ianto imagined Jack's body, how it felt, how he could feel every shuddering breath and thundery heartbeat while inside him. The utter closeness of it. How Jack would beg for movement and violence until the last of Ianto's restraint was torn away, and he'd take Jack so thoroughly then, making Jack cry out and acknowledge it by calling Ianto's name.

"Come on," Jack said against his cheek, coaxing, and Ianto closed his eyes tightly. He didn't need coaxing. He wanted rough, and power, and the call of it like the enormity and inevitability of the sea. "Come on," Jack said again, more a cold command this time – and that was better. He breathed through his nose as he moved more quickly, feeling himself so hot and hard, and ever so slightly wet, knowing he couldn't stop. It couldn't stop, and he suddenly grabbed Jack's wrist to make sure he didn't move his hand away. He breathed through his mouth then, lips curling as his body put everything into that one little bit of time.

"Jack!" he called out, and his breathing stalled for a long few seconds as he grunted and gave himself to Jack's hand, opening his eyes in time to see the white of his orgasm falling to the floor. It made him as dirty as the place, but he didn't care. It felt good. So good that he almost didn't mind so much missing out on what would have been his in the park.

Jack held him for a long moment, just rhythmically drawing it out until Ianto protested, then his hand moved away, only for him to mess around with his own clothes. "Lean against the wall," Jack ordered, and Ianto almost fell forward as he obeyed, not even caring now about the dirt and the grime. He drew in a shaky breath as he heard the clink of loose change. He turned his head to the side, and Jack was putting money into the vending machine. They didn't need that, so Jack was doing it for effect. Ianto knew what it was for, and an electric feeling ran through him even though he was spent. Jack turned him on in all ways, in mind as well as body.

"That's just cheap," he noted, not really complaining, just making the observation, and Jack stared at the machine for a long minute before digging his hand into Ianto's pocket where it rested against his upper thigh.

"No, it... really isn't," he said in vaguely astonished surprise, and Ianto giggled, amused that Jack was going to use _his_ money. Jack was good, and Ianto came around a little. Enough to appreciate the anticipation as Jack got the goods and ripped open the packet. His mind filled in the blanks so clearly that he knew exactly the moment when it would happen and braced himself against the wall. "Ready?" Jack asked, and Ianto took a breath.

"Yes." And he couldn't have braced himself for it enough. He never could. Jack pushed up and forward forcefully, taking him deep, and because of the things they did before coming out, with the additional lubrication from the condom, it didn't even really have an edge of pain. But it felt like too much. So full. Ianto cared so little about the wall now that he flattened his palms and scraped his fingertips against the tiles as if to cling to them.

Jack had hold of his hips, pulling him backwards, greedy, and Ianto found himself staring at the tiles as Jack took pleasure from him, sliding so deep inside him that Ianto rocked forward with a catch of something aggressive stuck in his throat. His eyelids fluttered before opening again, and he caught writing on the wall in front of him, meaningless graffiti, and his instinctive laugh morphed into an animal sound of need.

"Fuck me," he read aloud, secretly thrilled when Jack did just that, becoming more forceful and almost violent. There was a hidden part of him that always took this as punishment, if very pleasurable punishment. There was a part of him that considered this payment, despite how things had moved on. It was because he enjoyed thinking of it that way. He'd more or less offered himself up to Jack long ago, and it thrilled him to imagine Jack using him, using his body. Ianto's hands scrabbled at the tiles as if to embrace them, fingertips slipping over them as his short nails tried to find purchase in the grouting between them.

"So filthy," Jack murmured into his ear, pressing him almost into the wall. The shock of the cold tile against his softened flesh made Ianto jolt back onto Jack, whose arms closed around him possessively as if to capture him. "Tell me," he said then, and Ianto almost struggled in his arms as Jack brushed electric fingertips against his nipples.

"You make me want to swear," Ianto gasped as Jack pinched one of his nipples, his body tightening so that Jack made a noise that something between a groan and a growl and it all sped up, so that all Ianto could concentrate on was not being crushed between Jack and the wall. His arms weren't really up to it after the hunt and what Jack had done to him, and he ended up with the length of his body pressed against the wall while Jack pounded inside him. His cheek rested against the cool tiles beneath the window, and he looked at the space between the urinal and the mirror. Now Wash Your Hands, it said, and Ianto honestly tried to laugh.

His eyes roved over the wall, and he saw a hastily scribbled conversation between several anonymous strangers.

_Fancy a shag?_

_Yeah._

_Call 0775575485_

_That your number, sad case?_

_Your mothers._

_Motherfucker._

_Luke, I am your father._

He really tried to laugh out loud at the last line, but somewhere between his brain and his mouth it turned into a needy cry as Jack touched him somewhere inside for the first time. Ianto didn't move a millimetre, praying for it to come back, and Jack obliged him. He began to feel hot and the graffiti was forgotten as it continued. Impossible that he should be getting hard again, but he felt the powerful rush of his own blood and knew it was true. They were going to need a long hot shower after this, and there... there he would have Jack the way _he_ wanted.

It was coming to the crescendo. Jack was nothing if not completely obvious most of the time, and Ianto breathed along with him as he worked towards it, no longer caring about the words. And then, just when it couldn't be contained, there was the sound of the door opening behind them. Jack actually managed to stop for all of five endless seconds which were five of their heartbeats, and Ianto heard a shocked gasp. His only comfort was that he was mainly hidden by Jack's coat, them being directly opposite the door and facing away from it. But then, instead of moving away, Jack pushed into him again, making Ianto gasp in sudden unwanted pleasure.

"I can't stop," he groaned in apology, and Ianto closed his eyes knowing Jack couldn't stop, because he could feel it. "I can't," Jack said again on another more definite movement, the feel of him inside Ianto a testament to that. "I won't."

Still, for as much as he got it, Ianto knew they were being watched, and knew that the softly cleared throat was only the beginning of the humiliation for him. It must be Andy, but he hadn't left. As quickly as possible, Jack finished and pulled away, helping to make them both presentable before they turned around to face it. Andy stood with a look of slight disbelief for a second, then cleared his throat again, his voice coming out much lower than Ianto remembered it being before.

"So," he said conversationally, as if he hadn't just been watching them, "you, er... didn't find him then?"

To be continued...

**Author's Note:** Thank you for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it. Please consider leaving a review if you do like it, since this story has many more alerts than it has reviews and that disturbs me slightly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:**

First of all, thank you to my brilliant reviewers of the last chapter. You're all awesome!

Lady1question79: Getting the characters right is the most important thing to me, even more important than the slash – so thank you for reassuring me. Also, I do deliberately try to avoid being too fluffy with them. I'm glad that seems to be working out, though I might have ruined it with this chapter. Hopefully, there's enough humour to offset it a bit. g

Lady Da's Brain: Everything? Really? I shall my very best not to disappoint you, if only so that you keep calling me darling ;) Seriously though, thank you for letting me know you enjoyed it! :)

Thedoctorshope900: Thank you! Email on its way. Oh, and I won't stop updating. I'm also curious to see where this goes. Guess where Jack wants to take it? Oh, yes… nods

Everyone else: Ok, yes, this is a long chapter. More than double my usual chapter size, but don't get too excited just yet. You see, it's mostly exposition, to get Ianto and Andy alone, and working together on something important to them both.

When I wrote this, I had one of those days where I get up in the morning, and then come to in front of the computer with lots of words in Open Office. The last time I did that, I ended up with a smutty Jack/Ianto story about paperclips, and I quite liked that. This... it just seems to be – like I said – exposition. Still, knowing what's coming next, I can at least promise that I will make up for it, and that when they do start, there'll be no need to stop them until the end.

Also, the police get a lot of bad press a lot of the time. There are some amazing officers out there, doing a fantastic job, for little gratitude, who despite everything being against them, manage somehow to still do the best that they can. The bit where Andy changes Ianto's mind is dedicated to them in thanks.

Saying that, I also did quite a bit of research on questioning and interview techniques. That's taken the most amount of time, I think: the conversation between Andy and Ianto.

Ianto makes a joke about Owen, but I think that it's in character and so I'm not taking it out. Just a warning if you're easily upset.

With thanks to Kelly for being sharp enough to spot Andy's collar number in Exit Wounds.

Anyway, I'm going to shut up, because I'm about to ramble on for long enough in the fic. I'll just be in a corner, chanting the serenity prayer. It really works for editing – try it.

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**Chapter Three**

"So, you, er... didn't find him then?" Andy had asked. Ianto shook his head slightly.

"There's a window," Jack said coolly in explanation, jerking his head back at it, obviously not at all bothered to have been caught in the act. Andy followed his nod to stare at the small rectangle of frosted glass and Ianto recovered enough from his mortification to speak.

"There's also a door," he pointed out meaningfully, just a little bit pissed off and unable to avoid showing it. Andy had the gall to look embarrassed. He gave up on clearing his throat and coughed slightly.

"I, uh, didn't see anyone go out that way," Andy observed with a rather unwieldy shrug in that yellow jacket, looking anywhere but at the two of them. Ianto shook his head.

"That's possibly because we were still inside," Ianto shot back with as sharp an edge as he could put to it. Andy threw him an exasperated look and sighed.

"Look. They need to know if the area is clear," Andy explained apologetically, spreading his hands out wide, palms facing the floor. Ianto took a deep deliberate breath in and brushed past him.

"Yeah. It's gone." He looked back at Jack to make certain he was following. "Probably long gone by now." He aimed that last bit at Jack, then found himself looking at Andy again. That moment from earlier came back to him, where he had been staring at Jack in the mirror and thinking how hot it was. Suddenly he realised just why Andy might have stayed around to watch Jack finish. He probably wouldn't have been able to resist it either. Shrugging mentally, he decided at last to just let it pass.

"Is there a back door out of this place?" he asked, walking out of the door first, picking up the hockey stick as Jack passed him his gun.

"Yep. I'll show you," Andy said, and they allowed him to lead the way down a couple of narrow black-painted corridors with tiny spotlights in the ceiling to a small and unremarkable door – with a padlock. It really shouldn't be padlocked, especially with that Fire Exit sign over it. Ianto shook his head as Jack prepared to shoot the lock from the door.

"Whoa, whoa!" Andy called out loudly. "What is it with Torchwood? Overdo it much?" he asked, giving Jack a look that clearly said he thought the leader of Torchwood was a few swallows short of a pint. Ianto resisted the urge to comment that Jack was the master of overdoing it. "Look what I've got!" He held up a bunch of keys that jangled in front of Jack's nose. "Master set from the owner of the club. You're working with the police now."

Ianto looked at Jack with a silently alarmed question as Andy unlocked the door in front of them, and Jack shrugged as if he were helpless. With a sigh, Ianto trailed out after Jack through the open door, leaving Andy behind, telling his radio that there was now no requirement for people to be kept out of the club.

They burst out into the cool night air, surrounded by the smell of bitter that wafted up from the closed steel cellar door that was set into the ground. It was about a million times better than the smell in the Gents. By unspoken agreement, they both looked to the left where the window was on the side of the building before looking around them. It was an enclosed square, with just one large entrance on the left of the club from the road that must be used during deliveries. Perhaps it hadn't got that far after all.

Like men with far too much experience they immediately split up and walked around the dark paved square between the buildings carefully, searching for any sign of it. If it had made it out into the street, there would have been trouble. Since there hadn't, it must still be here... somewhere.

"Oh-ho!" There was a kind of shout from one corner, and Ianto realised that Andy had followed them out. He sought for Jack, found him when their eyes met, and in a flash they were both stood at either side of Andy as he stared down at his feet in a kind of nonchalant surprise. The Weevil lay there on its back, unmoving, face turned up to the moonlight, and as luck would have it, the misdirected security light from the back of the club.

"Well, I didn't think it was early enough for that kind of thing," Andy murmured. Ianto turned his head and stared at him. Andy shrugged, the movement made hulking again by the yellow jacket. "Halloween's a long way off."

"It's not a mask," Jack said, and Ianto looked away, preferring seeing the Weevil than Andy, because he knew what was going to happen to Andy after they'd got the Weevil sorted out. Looked like he would be making coffee again when all of this was over.

Jack swiftly knelt by the side of it, and tentatively reached out to check whatever it had that passed for a pulse. "Some kind of horribly disfiguring industrial accident, then?" Andy hazarded hopefully, a distinct lack of sentiment in his comment that made Ianto consider him again.

Jack didn't look around. "No. It's an alien. We call them Weevils." Jack informed him. Andy's laugh was short, deliberate and only just disbelieving.

"An alien? In Cardiff? Oh, I can just see myself filling in the paperwork on it now. There'd be tons of it."

Ianto smiled humourlessly. "Tell me about it," he said, and Jack flashed him an urgent and disapproving glance. Ianto suddenly became righteously annoyed. If Jack could tell the truth, so could he!

"It's still alive," Jack said, getting the tranquilliser gun and administering a heavy dose of sedative that made no more than a quiet pffft! sound in the dark of the enclosed square. Ianto assumed the policeman's eyes must be about to fall out as Jack pulled a darkened sack from his pocket for the Weevil's head. Actually, he was so convinced of that very thing, it took Jack's sudden glare to make him hear the sound of the radio.

"Charlie Bravo One. This is neighbourhood patrol officer one-eight-six, over." He had walked away, and was speaking into the radio as Ianto rushed to stand in front of him, blocking his path. The radio buzzed as the policeman came to a surprised halt, and a woman's voice floated out to them.

"One-eight-six, this is Charlie Bravo One. Go ahead, over." Ianto shook his head desperately as Andy thumbed the button to speak.

"I've run into Torchwood. Should I leave the scene to them, over?" Ianto breathed a sigh of relief as Andy gave him a look that was a question. As the inevitable reply came back over the radio, Ianto spoke over it.

"Don't say anything, because it will mean more than paperwork," he warned. Andy stared at him for a long moment.

"One-eight-six. Come in. Did you copy that? Ask Harkness for authorisation and withdraw, over."

There was silence, and Andy continued to stare, as Ianto began to feel slightly self-conscious, suddenly aware of how his torn and bloodied shirt must look as it fluttered around him in the cool night breeze. Jack's blood. He could feel his nipples tightening with the cold, and resisted the urge to pull the shirt around him as he folded his arms over his chest deliberately. Andy smiled. "Four-seven-four-three-one-seven," Ianto advised with a curt nod.

"Andy?" The voice came over the radio, sounding very uncertain, and Andy thumbed the button to speak, not looking away as Ianto waited to hear what he said.

"Understood, Charlie Bravo One. We have four-seven-four-three-one-seven. Over."

"That's fine, one-eight-six. I'll let the other officers on the scene know. Over."

Andy checked his watch, the entire thing looking rather graceless. Ianto secretly began to think those yellow jackets were really awful. "Thanks, Jackie. And with that I'm officially off duty. Over."

The voice from the radio came back as he and Andy stared at each other for a moment longer. "It's all right for some. You know I'll still be here in the morning when you come in again. Night, one-eight-six. Over and out."

Ianto felt himself visibly slump a little in relief and they both looked around as Jack joined them with the Weevil slung over his shoulder. He hoisted it with a grunt, and Ianto nodded at the question in his eyes.

"You'd better come with us," Jack said to Andy, as if it was an invitation instead of an order. He turned away to head out onto the street, then stopped suddenly. "Ianto?" He sounded kind of fearful and a little wary.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Where the hell did we park the SUV?" Ianto managed to keep in an amused laugh. Their chase had taken them all over the city centre before reaching the park and ending at the club. As such, they'd come almost full circle. He let Jack suffer for a second or two.

"About two streets away," he said, amazed at how efficient he sounded even to himself. He couldn't see it, but Jack's relieved smile was present in his voice as he hoisted the weight of the Weevil on his shoulder again. It wasn't necessary. There were three of them, but Jack did like to take these things upon himself.

"Good!" Jack said happily. "Let's sort this out."

* * *

"So..." Andy said casually, leaning against the counter while Ianto went through the ritual of making coffee. They had come back and called Owen in so early in the morning it could still technically be termed night. Jack had shown Andy around the Hub and dealt with his questions so far, giving Ianto the chance to shower and to change his clothes. Now he was immaculate again. Ianto tried hard to remember a time when someone had accompanied him in here. No, they never had, until now. He was a little surprised to be followed, and quirked his eyebrow at the door in a kind of silent suggestion.

"Is there something wrong with the conference room?" he asked, mild as ever, wondering if the fact that it was Owen in there rather than Gwen that meant Andy was with him. It didn't escape his quick mind that in the absence of Gwen, he was Andy's choice of company.

"No." Andy lounged against the counter good-naturedly, watching everything Ianto did. He didn't clarify his statement, but went off in an entirely new direction. "I wouldn't have taken you for the coffee man," he remarked, and Ianto remembered how he and Jack had appeared outside the club. His shirt had been covered in blood. No. Ianto supposed he hadn't looked the type to patiently wait on others. That didn't mean he was going to let Andy get away with the statement though.

"You wouldn't have taken me," he pointed out, his voice cool, "and don't call me that."

"Tea –" Andy began, and Ianto felt it was more than appropriate to cut him off. He must have learned it from Owen already.

"Not that either, thanks." There was silence between them, and yet the policeman didn't wander off. In his mind, Ianto sighed. He had a retcon pill to manage, and he didn't fancy doing it while the blond man was watching everything he did.

"So..." Andy said again, trying far too hard to be careless, picking up one of the empty white cups that Ianto had perfectly arranged on a tray. "Weevils?" he asked, his voice slightly incredulous.

"You saw it," Ianto retorted simply, refusing to go down that road, taking the cup from Andy and putting it back with a slightly disapproving glance at Andy's hands. Wasn't the answering questions and patient explanation thing supposed to be Jack's job? But yet again, Andy refused to be predictable, and his next question took Ianto so much by surprise that he found himself responding with the truth.

"Where is it now?"

"It died," Ianto said as he lifted the first of the three white cups to the machine, "while Owen was examining it."

There was silence between them for a moment as the machine made a satisfied gurgling, almost organic noise, and when Ianto had finished, Andy jumped in with another question.

"And what happens next? As the reporting officer, you're aware I'll be filling out some paperwork on it." He sounded pretty serious. Ianto smiled slightly as he picked up the second cup, and inhaled the scent of the coffee with his eyes closed.

"There won't be a report," he said firmly, then amended his statement. "Well, except for the archives here."

He filled the second cup aware all the time of Andy still lounging against the counter. It was almost enough to put him off.

"Has it happened before?" Andy asked when there was quiet again, not challenging Ianto at all about the police report. Again, he was startled into answering truthfully.

"Yes," Ianto said, frowning, beginning to get that he was being cross-examined and wanting to get away from it, "but, I refer to Owen as 'Doctor Death' for another reason."

"So it's happened more than once?" Ianto didn't answer this time, and just turned to regard Andy with a bit of suspicion. There was no need for it, really. After all, Andy was going to forget all of this, but Ianto found he didn't like being questioned. Andy smiled reassuringly. "Just clarifying."

"Yes, well," he replied, uncomfortable with what was being suggested. It might be true that they got rid of the odd one or two instead of imprisoning them, but the Weevils were more like vermin. Immediately, he realised that Andy wasn't suggesting anything. He himself was just taking it that way, because it was true. "This isn't the 'Born Free' project," he added dryly as if in justification.

"Oh, yeah," Andy said, nodding as if it made complete sense. "I mean I can really tell there's no Joy in it."

Ianto felt more uncomfortable than ever with the conclusions Andy was coming to, and he realised he'd let it slip himself. There had been no leading questions. Still, the sarcasm made him smile slightly, until Jack's impatient voice carried through to them all the way from the conference room. "Ianto!"

Andy tilted his head a little as if to imply Jack. "Or should that be Dian?" Ianto resisted the urge to laugh, and turned back to the machine, picking up the final cup.

"Ianto is fine," he remarked in amusement. There was silence between them again for a moment, and Andy walked away from the counter a little. When Ianto had finished, he stood with his back to Andy, and it was easy to slip the little pill in there. After all that, it was so very easy really.

"How many unsolved murders are they responsible for, Ianto?" It was the first time the blond policeman had used his name. Now he did it at Ianto's request, and he closed his eyes briefly in silent apology for what he had to do. They couldn't leave him alone with the knowledge. But the question tugged at him too. It was a perfectly reasonable question, even if you weren't a police officer.

"How many of them were women?" Andy continued. "Children?" There was the slightest hint of resentment towards Torchwood in his voice. A kind of weary disappointment. In fact, now Andy's voice held all the compassion it had lacked when he found the Weevil. Cold enough to do the job, compassionate enough for it as well. It was a wonderful, beautiful kind of integrity that made Ianto feel humble. A search for the truth. A desire to do the right thing, even for the dead. "Do you know?" Andy questioned. "Shouldn't it be documented, somewhere, what really happened to them? All of them."

Taking a deep breath in, Ianto considered. There must be so many. "Yes, it should," he admitted, his quick mind already leaping forward as he imagined creating a new space in the archives for them. "I can find out." His eye was drawn down to where the last evidence of the retcon pill bubbled on the surface of the coffee before fading completely. And then there was temptation.

"I can tell you. All you have to do is ask," Andy said. "It'll be much quicker that way." Ianto nodded. It would be quicker. "We'll match them up together, and you can keep the information here. Just as long as you keep it." How could he resist? How could he fail so many by denying this opportunity? Andy was even saying it could be kept here, at Torchwood. Ianto knew what he was about to do, and he hated it, but it had to be done. He turned around slowly with the tray in his hands.

"Have a cup of coffee," he suggested carefully, and pointed out the retconned one with a nod of his head. "Have that one." Andy's eyes widened as he realised, and Ianto didn't say anything else, watching as the blond man reached out to the side of the tray he hadn't indicated.

"Since you insist," he replied, "I think I'll have this one." He paused before opening the door to let Ianto through with the tray in his hands. "Thanks," he said deeply. Ianto swallowed. It wasn't over yet by a long way.

"Yep." He thought for a moment, and then looked into Andy's eyes meaningfully. "Don't mention it."

* * *

"Well, Owen?" Jack asked, when they were all settled around the conference room table, a coffee in front of each of them, except for Owen who wasn't really that good at drinking coffee any more.

"It's nothing out of the ordinary," Owen said carelessly across from Ianto, throwing his autopsy report onto the table so that its contents spilled out. Ianto was aware that Andy was paying close attention next to him, seated between him and Jack who was at that head of the table. "Just another Weevil. It died of injuries likely sustained by the fall. I mean, do you really have to wake me up every time you kill one together?" Ianto cringed very slightly, sensing Andy's sudden start of attention. "Are you expecting me to take a picture of you both with it or something?"

Ianto couldn't believe one person could let so much slip with just a few sentences. Even he hadn't done that badly. "It's just another boring subject to you, isn't it?" he asked sarcastically, with a conscious little dig at Owen's other identity, safe in the knowledge that Andy knew nothing about it. Owen glared at him, clearly not quite over having been dragged out in the middle of the night to examine a Weevil.

"Ha! Very funny, tea boy," he answered with more than a little animosity. "Just remind me never to look at your photo album. Or play hockey with you," he pointed out with a kind of sick smile. Ianto clenched his hands, telling himself he wasn't curious if that was on the autopsy report.

"Stop it!" Jack warned, before Ianto could answer. Somehow, he never seemed as bothered by Owen's taunting. "Ok, Owen, you can go," he said then. "Me and Ianto will finish up here."

"Right, thanks," Owen said, getting up out of his chair with a roll of his eyes, grabbing his jacket from the back of it, leaving the autopsy photographs all over the conference table. "I've gone."

Soon, he was. They heard the Hub's door open and close as they sat in a silence that wasn't entirely uncomfortable. Ianto stole a glance at Andy, and found him regarding the empty chairs around the table. He drew in a breath to speak, but Ianto beat him to it. "She's not needed," Ianto said, anticipating the question. Jack picked up on it then with a smirk.

"And it's not as amusing to annoy her," Jack added, doing all but say out loud that the examination or autopsy was just to irritate Owen. Andy still sat with his mouth open for a second, about to speak, then he just nodded and smiled ruefully, acknowledging the truth of the statement. Ianto felt himself smirk a little as he sipped at his coffee. Coffee. He tried to get comfortable in his chair, but suspected it wasn't possible.

"So, what now?" Andy asked at last of Jack. Ianto watched them. Jack sat back in a kind of cocky confidence. The Captain in him could never resist this bit.

"We wait," he said, and then nodded down. "How's your coffee?"

Andy just smiled back and raised the cup in a kind of salute while Ianto felt the colour drain from his face a little bit. Had he really done it? "Really good, thank you," Andy said. "Invigorating." There was a long minute where Jack and Andy stared at each other. Jack blinked first. Extremely slowly. He shook his head a little.

"No," he murmured, gripping the edge of the table, staring down at his own coffee in realisation, then that blue gaze switched to Ianto. "Ianto!" he said in alarm. He didn't know what he'd meant to do when it came to this. Pretend it had been accidental, maybe. But now it was here, he just couldn't, and he remained frozen in his seat as he looked back at Jack.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Sorry?" Jack echoed, then did that extended blinking thing again before he got it. His chair scraped on the floor as he pulled himself heavily to his feet. "iSorry!?/i"

That made Ianto get up as well, Andy completely forgotten as he saw Jack waver unsteadily on his feet. He rushed over, already reaching out to help. "Jack, I really think you should –"

"Sorry?" Jack said again in shock, looking up at him from where he was leaning forward with his hands on the table. Suddenly he made a visible effort and stood up straight, taking Ianto's upper arms in a strong grip. "You wouldn't do this to me," Jack said, as if it had to be true. Ianto winced. "I just know you wouldn't. Not on purpose."

Ianto had no answer at all, and he swallowed as he tried to avoid Jack's intense gaze. "Why?" Jack asked in disbelief. "Why would you..." his voice suddenly trailed off, and Ianto found himself with his arms full of Jack Harkness. He was heavier than he looked.

"Quick!" Ianto called out to Andy urgently, struggling to keep them both stood up. "Help me with him!" To his relief, Andy was soon helping him to lower Jack to the floor. At last he'd removed the yellow jacket and turned it inside out to the soft navy blue quilted lining and bundled it up into a makeshift pillow that he placed behind Jack's head.

"What is it?" Andy asked, studying Jack like a doctor. Probably first aid training. Ianto swatted his hands away.

"Just an amnesia pill," he explained quickly, "but it's a sedative as well. This one is particularly quick-acting. Harmless, really." Andy nodded, but Ianto was watching Jack, who suddenly opened his eyes again and lifted a hand as if searching for something. Ianto held Jack's hand to his face.

"Ianto..." he murmured.

"It's all right," Ianto said soothingly. Jack's other hand came up, and before long Ianto found himself sprawled on the floor at the side of him, patiently allowing Jack to pull his face closer to look at him. There was such a look in his eyes. Ianto found himself thinking that Jack was kind of cute like this, fighting the sedative. In fact, he began to wonder if Jack could resist it altogether and stay awake, just like this. Not that he was thinking of taking advantage. Of course not.

"Ianto..." Jack said again, fuzzily, as if concentrating. He smiled then, suddenly realising Ianto was before him, in his hands. He took a breath. "You're fired."

Ianto tried to nod, but Jack's hands wouldn't let him move his head. "Yes, Sir," he replied, then bit his lower lip as he considered apologising again. Maybe not while Jack had hold of him.

Jack's eyes narrowed, and then widened. "Really!" he almost shouted, and then looked rather upset and regretful as his fingertips tangled in Ianto's hair and stroked the side of his face. "I really, really mean it this time."

"It's all right, Sir," Ianto reassured him smoothly, shaking his head, kind of loving the way his lips touched on Jack's palms, "you won't remember that bit."

"You'll remind me," Jack said firmly, still commanding even when he was fighting it. "And..." he looked lost for a second. "Ianto, did I... just..." He sighed in the most adorable way, and Ianto thought he might be ready to promise Jack anything at that moment. "Did I just fall into your arms?"

"Yes, you did," Ianto said, lowering his eyes since he couldn't nod, and finding himself staring at Jack's lips.

"Good. Was I...?" His eyelids fluttered. "It...?"

The smile Ianto came out with turned into a little laugh when he realised what Jack was asking him. Even now, when he was about to lose his fight with the retcon. Vanity. It was so Jack, and he couldn't help but love it. "It was beautiful," he said in certainty, answering the question as Jack pulled him closer still. Whether that was intended, or if it was just that he couldn't keep his hands raised was debatable, but either way it ended in a kiss that Ianto found himself directing more than his fair share of.

"Nice..." Jack said when Ianto pulled back, licking his lips with his eyes closed. A steely glint of blue showed under his eyelashes. "You're still fired." Then he was out.

To be continued...

**Author's Note:** If you're still with me, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:**

First of all – thank you's to my wonderful reviewers.

Lady1question79: Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy this next bit too. I'm sounding like a broken record, but I'm so happy you like the characterisation. Thank you! :)

Thedoctorshope900: Lol! Don't worry. Jack will make Ianto pay for it. He'll also make certain Ianto doesn't do it again – but there'll be fun first (grins). And besides, we all know that Jack really likes the thought of falling into Ianto's arms. Although having said that, my mind is busy thinking up the times when Jack has "fired" Ianto before.

LadyDa'sBrain: Aww, I didn't mean to make you self-conscious, though I'm more than happy to be promoted from 'darling' to 'love' ;) Regarding the paperclips. You'll be seeing something that they can be used for soon…

Ok! Everyone: I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

Please note that the PNC is the Police National Computer.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Ianto slowly extricated himself from Jack's grip and stood up, looking down on him for a moment as he dusted himself off, then looking at Andy. They'd have to move him. Jack would be angry enough when he woke up without them leaving him on the floor. For a moment the thought of Jack's anger refused to leave him. He would be furious, and Ianto realised he wasn't taking it at all seriously enough. How was he going to diffuse it?

Refusing to think about that just yet, his eyes drifted to the stairs that led up to the office, and he imagined the rest – like the ladder down to the sleeping space – and knew it couldn't be done. He cast his glance down to Jack again, aware that Andy was watching him closely.

"Damn," Ianto said at last, one hand on his hip, wondering if there was even a way to solve it. Even with the two of them, it must be impossible.

"What is it?" Andy asked.

"There's no chance of getting him into bed," Ianto replied without thinking, shaking his head with a regretful sigh.

"There isn't?" Andy's answer was half-disbelief, half disappointment, and it made Ianto realise just what he'd said. He gifted the policeman with a hard look, and was slightly gratified when Andy's eyes widened in alarm. "I mean," Andy said in a kind of insincere apology, holding up his hands, "no, of course not!"

Ianto could detect sarcasm from a mile away, and so he folded his arms and continued staring, saying nothing. Eventually, the blond policeman smiled. "The more you look like that, the more I want to do it to you," Andy said in amusement. But do what? Him or Jack? Why was he even thinking about it!? This was a brand new challenge he really didn't need. Ianto held back a sigh.

"One of us is going to have to practice a little restraint," Ianto pointed out carefully, as if he were speaking to a child, breaking the eye contact. "Why don't you try it on yourself?"

"I was liking that suggestion right up until just after the 'try it on' bit." Andy was quick, Ianto had to give him that, and suddenly there was a blossoming of interest in him for this man. Who was he? Almost instantly, he had become much more than Gwen's ex-partner.

"You mean you don't get the last word?" Ianto said with a hint of a smile, waiting to see what Andy came back with.

"Apparently..." Andy said, and then grinned when Ianto drew in a breath to speak. "Or maybe not."

"I'm glad we understand each other," Ianto said, and felt that he might even be smirking. With a quick shake of his head, he ran his hands through his hair and puffed his breath out through his lips, his mind returning to the problem at hand. Perhaps the settees, he thought, turning it over in his mind. Well, it wasn't perfect, but it would be comfortable enough.

"So am I," Andy returned. "This is going to be interesting." Ianto was already thinking about pillows and blankets.

"Okay. Just stay here and watch him," he said, distracted, turning away suddenly and sprinting up the stairs to get some things from the sleeping space.

* * *

When he came back, between them they made short work of pushing the settees together to accommodate Jack's height, and Ianto provided the pillows and covers. They moved Jack together with a little effort, and Ianto made sure he was comfortable before turning away, remembering what all of this was for and getting eager to begin. It felt like it would be good, useful work. A list. He was good at lists.

"Okay," he said, eager to get down to business, seating himself in front of Tosh's monitor and swivelling the chair around to look at Andy. "So what did you have in mind? I can get the PNC up on here, and we can search through the files that..." Something about the way Andy looked at him wasn't quite right. "What?" he asked, wondering at the reason for the attention just as Andy dropped his gaze and looked over at Jack.

"You two are a love story just waiting to happen," he commented, and Ianto frowned.

"You think we're waiting?" he asked, feeling uncertain about it all and wondering what Andy had seen in them.

"You didn't say it to him," Andy pointed out. There wasn't any doubt at all what he meant.

"Well, he just fired me," Ianto said dryly, "and I just gave him a mind altering drug." He paused to draw in a deliberate breath. "It really didn't seem like a good time under the circumstances."

"Did he mean that then? About firing you?" Ianto didn't even have to think about the question.

"Yep," he said, nodding. "Absolutely. At least he thinks so. I'll have to deal with that when he wakes up."

"How?" Andy asked, and Ianto stared at him until he smiled again. "Just curious," he said, spreading his hands as if to say he wasn't a threat. How was he going to deal with it? The gravity of what he'd done began to hit home, and Ianto swallowed nervously, but he wouldn't show that to Andy.

"I'll remind him of some other things..." Ianto replied at last, thinking about some of them and allowing just a little of a smile, realising that whatever happened, he was probably going to enjoy making it up to Jack. A lot. He might be too confident, but then Jack was too easy. They were perfectly matched that way.

"Really?" Andy asked in interest, obviously imagining something along similar lines himself, and Ianto didn't see any call to deny it.

"Yeah," he said, and after a long moment, Andy looked away.

"So? You can get the PNC?" Andy said, changing the subject and the tone so suddenly Ianto was caught off guard. "Do you use it?"

Those moments from the kitchen returned to Ianto, and he stopped himself this time before he would have given out information for free. "Stop interrogating me," he warned, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the monitor. "I know what you're playing at."

Andy came to stand behind his chair as he brought up the login screen for the PNC and got access. "Do you? Most people don't," the policeman remarked. As an opportunity, it was completely irresistible to Ianto.

"Oh, is that why you're so obvious?" Ianto asked, longing to laugh. Instead, it was Andy who laughed, and Ianto jumped because he hadn't realised the blond policeman was so close to him.

"I'll get you," Andy promised, amused, and Ianto felt something click on inside his mind.

He leaned his head back in the chair to look up at where Andy was stood. "Only if you're quick enough," he pointed out. It was fun. And Jack usually gave right in at this point. But Andy wasn't Jack, and Ianto held his breath when Andy's hands settled on the arms of the chair as he stared down. He really hadn't meant to flirt, it had just kind of happened, and now...

"Are you going to run?" he asked, eyes travelling over Ianto in speculation. A memory came to him, unbidden, of Captain John Hart and that little game he had played. _Run, Ianto Jones!_ He felt his face fall, and it obviously wasn't the reaction Andy was expecting, but it didn't matter. There was something else for them to do that didn't involve playing games.

"Shall we get started?" Ianto suggested, much more serious, sitting up straight so that Andy had to move away from him. Ianto indicated the other chair, and soon enough they were sifting through unsolved murder files, searching for the ones that had the characteristics of a Weevil attack.

At first Ianto had thought – naively, as it turned out – that the search would be easy. Like fitting blocks into the correct slots. Find the murders, note them down. But it wasn't like that at all, and he found himself paying attention to everything Andy said, learning from him because it was all there to learn.

Torchwood could jump to conclusions at times, but police work just wasn't like that. For every case they didn't just go through the autopsy report and make a judgement based on the injuries. They went through witness statements and evidence, trying to piece together what had happened the night in question. They looked at suspects and possible motives. They made little case files for the victims, noting the evidence, and only when it was beyond a shadow of a doubt was the victim put onto the list.

Quite early on, Ianto realised this was going to take much longer than he had first thought. Even with Andy to help, and he was a great help, it was going to take them much longer than a couple of hours. It could take days, if not weeks to do this. And that would just be for those victims who had lost their lives over the last few years. Still, he wanted to do it. Paying so much attention in every case made them real to him. It wasn't just a list of names they were compiling. It was a roll call. A monument.

But a couple of hours was all they had, because after that amount of time, Jack began to stir. Anyone else would have been out for the full night and well into the morning. Jack obviously recovered from it more quickly, and Ianto began to feel slightly afraid for the consequences of what he had done.

Without saying a word to each other, Ianto and Andy stood and left the computer screens to wait before the settee, watching Jack as he groaned and turned over, still unconscious, but surely not for much longer.

"Can you make coffee?" Ianto asked, not looking away from Jack, and beside him, from the corner of his eye, he noticed Andy draw back from him a little in puzzlement. "It doesn't matter," he said quickly. "I'd better do it anyway." Jack would know if it wasn't his, but he'd better be quick.

"Look after him for a few minutes," Ianto said hurriedly and jogged off to the kitchen.

When he was nearly done, Jack started to call for him, and he shouted that he was on his way, carrying the tray back to the main area, only pausing for a second when he saw the coat stand. On it was Jack's coat, plus the ugly yellow thing that Andy had to wear. It was new and shocking, but somehow it didn't seem wrong. Ianto got moving again as Jack shouted and came upon something he really should have expected.

Jack looked over to him briefly from where he was stood at the side of the settee, a look of uncertain anger in his eyes as he pointed a gun at Andy, who had his arms up. Andy chanced a quick wave at Ianto where he stood with the tray. "Can I stop looking after him now?" he asked hopefully, his complexion a little paler than Ianto remembered. "I'm thinking it didn't go all that well to be honest."

"Ianto, what's happening here?" Jack demanded. "It's retcon. I can tell. I never wake up disorientated like that." No, he really didn't, and Ianto realised he might have been able to predict this if he'd dared to give it much thought.

Calmly, Ianto put the tray down, and walked over to Jack, putting a hand over the gun and looking into his eyes. "It's all right. I'm going to remind you," he said, and amazingly Jack trusted him. Behind him, there was movement, and he couldn't stop Jack from raising the gun again, his gaze switching to Andy with a definite dangerous warning.

"Whoa!" Andy said in alarm. "Okay! Not moving!"

"Are you all right?" Jack asked in concern, trying to look at both Andy and Ianto at the same time. It was such an unexpected question that Ianto blinked for a second in confusion, and then he smiled, feeling warm, though his growing sense of responsibility wasn't helped by Jack's worry at all.

"Yes. I'm all right," he said reassuringly, then felt immediately guilty for what he had done. "I think you'd better sit down," he said, swallowing in nervous dread. Maybe he should get the gun away from Jack before he started? Happily, Jack didn't seem to mind swapping the gun for a cup of coffee, and Ianto put the gun safely out of reach. Then he took a deep breath and began.

"Do you remember that we went hunting?" Ianto began hesitantly, and Jack frowned, sighing as he tried to recall it. After a moment, he reached out and ran his forefinger over Ianto's cheek, then his eyes dropped and he shook his head slightly.

"There was blood," Jack said vaguely. "My blood. All over you." Ianto nodded in encouragement.

"What did you do with the shirt?" Jack asked, his voice low with suddenly remembered desire, and Ianto smiled.

"I threw it away," he replied quietly. It had been completely ruined. Jack sighed in disappointment. "Do you remember the club?" Ianto asked then, pressing forward, and Jack frowned again.

"It went into the men's room. We followed it." Ianto nodded, and then Jack grinned at him wolfishly. Ianto tried not to edge away, knowing what had to be coming next. Jack didn't need his help now. "Afterwards, we went outside, and..." Jack paused, and looked over at Andy who hadn't moved. "_He_ found it." Andy nodded at him. "So we brought it back here along with him. I called Owen. It wasn't dead but then it was an autopsy in the end. You..." A look of sheer betrayal came over Jack's face, and Ianto closed his eyes.

"Why?" he demanded, and Ianto opened his eyes meekly, a kind of cornered desperation making him tell the truth.

"It... I... That is, I wanted to make a list of the victims. The Weevils kill people, Jack. I just wanted to," he paused and shrugged miserably at Jack's obvious anger. "I just wanted to make a list, for them."

"And you had to retcon me to do that?" Jack asked, ice in his voice.

"I needed his help." Ianto looked around for Andy for support, and found he had seated himself a respectable distance away from them at one of the monitors. "Admittedly, it sounded a lot more justified in my head..." He gulped, unable to say anything else.

"I remember something else," Jack said coolly. "You're fired."

Now was the time. Ianto took a deep breath and in the end he didn't dare to try and tempt Jack, but his earlier intention was in his eyes. It must be, because Jack looked him up and down as if considering, before finally shaking his head, and Ianto's heart fell into his shoes.

"No," Jack said, and Ianto leaned forward to rest his head in his hands. This wasn't going how he had hoped at all. The silence between them was awful. Ianto needed so much to break it, but there wasn't anything to say. There wasn't any defence he could give for what he'd done.

"You'd owe me something if I let you get away with this," Jack suggested at last, and Ianto knew. That little bit of mercy! Oh, he knew that Jack had engineered his agreement, but he just couldn't help giving it.

"Yes," he said instantly, not looking up, willing to agree to anything to stay.

"Promise me anything," Jack said as if reading his mind, and Ianto did look up at that. There was no escape from it, and though he had some idea what trouble he might be getting into, he couldn't deny it was kind of exciting. He licked his lips.

"Okay," he said nervously. "Anything." Something in Jack's eyes lit up as though he had won, and Ianto swallowed, but Jack didn't seem to want to take him up on it right away.

"So, you retconned me to spend time alone with a policeman?" Jack questioned, changing the subject slightly. Ianto wanted to smile, but settled for a little shrug.

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds –"

"You've got a thing for coats as I remember," Jack said, teasing. "It's not the yellow jacket, is it? Because, even for role play, I really don't think I could..." He grimaced. "You know."

"It's not the coat," Ianto said, laughing a little.

"Good. What is it then?" Jack queried, raising his eyebrows a little.

"Nothing!" Ianto denied the idea vehemently.

"Well, thanks!" Andy's voice floated over to them, proving that he'd been eavesdropping all along. Ianto rolled his eyes.

"Stay out of this," he warned, and got a reply back in stereo from Andy and Jack.

"No," they both said, and Ianto saw something in Jack's eyes that he really wished he hadn't seen.

"You owe me," Jack said with a grave nod.

"Yes," Ianto whispered back faintly.

"Anything," Jack reminded him. Ianto nodded with a gulp.

"Something from the list," Jack said in smug satisfaction, sitting back as he allowed Ianto to draw his own conclusions. Oh, yes, because one of the things on Jack's list was predictable, wasn't it?

"Oh, you wouldn't," he said, almost pleading, but there was no mercy.

"I was hoping for Owen," Jack said in consideration, folding his arms as though the discussion was over. "Was even thinking we might have to go with Gwen since you and Owen seem to want to kill each other most of the time. But this is just perfect. I mean, I'll bet he's even brought his own handcuffs." Ianto shook his head, and Jack's eyes moved away from him for a moment to Andy.

"Have you?" Jack called out, and Ianto heard the sound of steel as Andy undoubtedly held the handcuffs up in answer. Jack laughed.

"Oh, God..." Ianto began, and then realised he didn't know how to carry on. "Jack... when I said – "

"Anything," Jack broke in with a little smirk.

"Yeah, that," Ianto said carefully. "When I said that I thought it might be something kind of... private?" Now it seemed foolish. This was Jack. Promising Jack anything was like promising the devil. You were sure to regret it.

"Why?" Jack asked him, as if it were a completely reasonable request he was making.

"Good question," Ianto said, seeing the fault in his own logic regarding the promise he'd given. "Erm..." As he searched around for something to say, Jack moved one hand and began to undo Ianto's shirt. There wasn't even a hint of seduction, and Ianto just watched in shocked stillness. "Oh, God." There really wasn't anything else to say.

"Notice he doesn't say no," Jack pointed out as Andy came over to join them on the settee, sitting at the other side of him as Jack nudged his shirt out of the way, and ran warm fingertips over his chest.

"I was noticing," Andy said, just watching Jack's hand. Ianto looked down just as Jack's thumb brushed over his nipple, and bit his lip. He raised his eyes again only to find Andy was looking at him now. "Are you going to say no?" Andy asked.

Something about his mind wasn't working right. He'd promised this. Jack had made him promise. And then there was this kind of amusement in Andy's eyes. "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction," he said at last, still trying to think as Andy laughed.

"I think you'll find that satisfaction is exactly what you're going to give me if you carry on." Ianto raised his hands to his face, the movement nudging Jack's hand away. Before he could breathe again, Jack was pulling at his hands with a smirk and holding them so that Andy could take off his shirt. Ianto looked at Jack with a kind of desperation.

"You're not going to help me, are you?" he asked hopelessly.

Jack chuckled. "No way."

"Great," he said, feeling put upon, and also something else he wouldn't admit for the world. They couldn't make him admit to anything at all.

"I told you I'd get you," Andy said.

"On the numbers I've won two out of three," Ianto pointed out with a sigh. "_I'm_ winning."

"Are you sure?" Andy asked, and Ianto really wasn't. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was neither of them. Actually, he had a sneaking suspicion that Jack was winning. "Who wants these?" Andy jangled the handcuffs, and Ianto drew in a deep breath, but Jack beat him to it.

"I really think it should be him," Jack said, and Ianto gave him a betrayed look.

"Me too," Andy said with a grin. That seemed to be settled. Ianto wondered how long it was before they could expect any of the other team members to come in, and wondered if Jack would even be bothered.

To be continued...

**Author's Note: **Thank you for reading… I hope you are enjoying it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** As usual I do not own Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones or PC Andy Davidson. They belong to Russell T Davies, their wonderful writers, the BBC and to John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd and Tom Price for being brilliant, all of them. I do own a paper clip. It's not looking quite as innocent as it did before. Anyway, please don't sue me. I own nothing of any value to you. Even my computer stopped responding several times during the writing of this chapter and has since given up completely. Maybe it was thinking too much about the paper clip in MS Word. I really have no idea.

**Author's Notes:**

Some thanks to give out first! :)

CrazedEnigma: Thank you! I'm glad it made you giggle. :)

Lady Da's Brain: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks again for your help. Chapter four has been made a little clearer, I hope.

lady1question79: Glad you liked it – and I hope you enjoy this part as well.

Baz: Thank you for reviewing. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Cat in a box: Thank you! :)

Okay! Here we are again. I was going to write something else today, but found myself carrying on with this regardless. Yes, I will get back to some kind of plot with the Weevils and the list Andy and Ianto are making, but first I plan to dedicate a lot of my time to writing possibly the longest smutty scene in the world. Here is some of it.

My computer stopped working several times during the writing of this chapter. It's very scary. I thought at one point I would have to resort to pen and paper, and it's never the same that way. Am I the only writer in the world who finds it better with a word processor? Lots of people seem to prefer longhand. No way. By the time I get to writing that sentence I've just thought up that's several words away, I've gone and forgotten it. Longhand is disastrous for me.

Anyway! I should probably have mentioned in the last part that the PNC is the Police National Computer. Sorry about that. I'm an idiot.

And, just in case it wasn't glaringly obvious, none of this is beta read. It far too much fun for that, but please do feel free to point out any mistakes you see to me. Getting into a scene with three characters is something I've done before, erm, quite a lot, and it's always a bit difficult not to overuse names and things. If I've committed that sin, I'm truly sorry.

Anyway, here is one thing you can use coloured paper clips for. I think you did ask before, CrazedEnigma. By the way, there is a fic on its way that includes the line: "That really doesn't belong there!" though it's slow going, and I've had a complete computer breakdown in the middle of it.

Ok! I hope you enjoy it! Now, I am going to catch up on emails before I have to work again. :)

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**Chapter Five**

The click of the handcuffs was somehow final, though Ianto found himself more concerned with the sensation of two pairs of hands holding his wrists in place for the second or so it took to secure him. When it was done, Jack pulled him around so that he rested against Jack's chest, his secured hands useless behind him, brushing against Jack's waistband.

Ianto closed his eyes and relaxed back against Jack before he realised it wasn't that simple. He opened his eyes and found Andy staring at him. Why the hesitation? And then he knew. After all of Andy's amused confidence, it came as a surprise to realise he was actually inexperienced. Ianto shook his head a little and just managed to stop himself saying no. He may be handcuffed, but that didn't mean he was going to get away without participating. He wanted to believe he was doing it for Jack's pleasure, but something about it caught at his mind, and he found himself smiling slightly as he leaned forward deliberately slow, giving Andy time to back away if he wanted. He didn't back away.

It was the strangest mixture of control and helplessness for a few seconds as he brushed his lips against Andy's, feeling the blond man's hesitance because he didn't respond so strongly, and Ianto began to enjoy it, closing his eyes as Andy very slowly kissed him back. The urge to hold Andy to him was so strong he felt the muscles in his arms and shoulders contract automatically. Jack's warm hands suddenly held his upper arms and squeezed his muscles slightly in appreciation, reminding him he was a prisoner, and that made him gasp.

"Good," Jack commented in a low voice as Andy finally got with the idea and responded to his kiss with a bit more passion and lust. Andy's hands came up to frame his face, holding him still when he might have moved. It wasn't fair. They were both pressed against him, and they were still clothed against his bare skin. It made him feel like his own desire was a couple of steps in front of theirs, and though he was restrained, he could never be passive in their arms.

Jack kissed the back of his shoulder, and a shiver ran through his body, making him fidget restlessly. Andy pulled back, and Ianto chased his lips blindly, asking for more. He was delighted when he got it. And then it stopped again. Andy looked at him, and then one of his hands moved. Ianto watched breathlessly, eyelids lowered as that hand moved down his body and the touch was so tentative he found himself pressing into it, almost demanding.

By the time Andy's hand reached the waistband of his trousers, he heard the steel jangle as he made an involuntary movement to get free. He wanted to make Andy touch him, to make him hard, wanted to show Andy what he liked. He made an unconscious sound in his throat as he felt a gentle and awkward brush of fingertips, watched it happening, and his body responded for him, reaching out for the hand that teased.

It was a strange kind of torment, desperately wanting more of a definite touch, too afraid to say in case it was withdrawn in insecurity. Andy's other hand was still curled around the back of his neck, and a thumb brushed over the pulse in his neck, drawing his gaze back up so that he looked into Andy's eyes, aware of everything that was happening. And then it was suddenly fantastic.

Ianto drew in a sharp breath as he tried to rock forward, staring at Andy for another second before he looked down and saw Jack's hand covering Andy's, making the touch into a firm caress. He could feel Andy's fingers curled around him, moving up and squeezing slightly. It was all teasing. He could hear it in Jack's chuckle as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against Jack's shoulder.

"Shall we get more comfortable?" Jack suggested, and he must be talking to Andy, only after a moment or two, Jack jerked his shoulder to dislodge him. "Ianto?" They were still touching him. Ianto tried to concentrate, and imagined how it might feel if he was naked.

"More..." he said at last, trying to agree, and this time Andy laughed. Still, it earned him a kiss from Jack. Hot, long and leisurely enough to make him forget everything except what had to happen next. Their hands left him, and Ianto moaned into the kiss as it ended. He had the distinct impression that Jack had been trying to taste something of Andy in it.

"We're going to need some things," Jack said then, and Ianto watched him bound away enthusiastically up the stairs to the office. He sighed and sat back, hands still handcuffed behind him. Beside him, Andy was sat still and silent. Eventually, Ianto looked at him.

"Are you all right with this?" Andy asked, and Ianto laughed a little.

"It's what Jack seems to want," he said carefully, holding back explicit permission for the moment until Andy came up with a proper question. Between them they'd proved he was 'all right' with it. He resisted the urge to kiss Andy again and make the question go away. That wouldn't be any kind of answer.

"What do you want?" Andy asked, and that still wasn't quite the right question. He drew in a deep shuddering breath and Andy reached out to touch him again. Again, almost nervous, experimenting. His fingertips brushed over Ianto's chest, pausing to examine the hair, and then down further again. Ianto saw his stomach contract as Andy's fingers dragged over his skin. It was a delicious kind of tickle before he drew in a breath at the tingly contact of a hand on his hardness, even through the material of his trousers. He turned his head to watch Andy's reaction, and saw desire there as the blond looked up as well. They smiled at each other.

"It's all right," Ianto said, and Andy nodded. A flash of understanding passed between them, and Andy leaned close, one hand on Ianto's leg, clear in what he wanted, and there wasn't any way Ianto could regret giving him that answer. They kissed once more, and this time all the urgency and desire that Andy had held back before was present within it. Again, Ianto heard the steel of the handcuffs in his need to hold Andy close to him, and to touch him in turn. It was such a welcome intimacy, and he tasted new. Felt new. Different to Jack, but still wonderful, and Ianto lost himself in it, only realising Jack had returned when Andy drew away to reveal him stood there before the settee.

He'd said they needed some things, and Ianto knew what they were. But Jack had been for something else as well, and Ianto sighed when he saw Jack holding up a paper clip.

"No, Jack. I can't do it," he protested, already tired of trying, but knowing he was desperate to get his hands on that paper clip. It was the chance of freedom from the handcuffs. Because it was possible. He'd seen Jack do it any number of times.

"You know what I've said about practice," Jack said authoritatively.

"It's better than theory?" Ianto hazarded with just a little sarcasm, and beside him Andy sniggered. It was like having an ally, and Ianto let himself smile a little bit as he looked up at Jack who was undoing his shirt, still holding the paper clip.

"The other thing I said." Jack frowned as he shouldered off the braces and got rid of the shirt, sitting back down on the settee at the other side of Ianto. Beside him, Andy began to get undressed too, and Ianto sneaked a look before Jack cleared his throat, waiting.

"Yes," Ianto replied at last, looking back at him defiantly. "You said it's just an excuse people use to do something over and over again." Actually, what Jack had said about practice with the paper clip was: _It's just an excuse for me to handcuff you over and over again._

"Not quite," Jack remarked with a smirk. "I said that –"

"Don't correct me," Ianto declared suddenly, breaking in over Jack, and they both looked at him. Ianto thought about what he'd said for a moment as he sat there, handcuffed, between his boss and a policeman. Something wasn't quite right.

"No," Andy said at last to Jack, taking off his own shirt. "Maybe you should let me correct him instead."

Jack huffed. "I'm a Captain," he pointed out, emphasising his words with the hand that held the paper clip. Ianto followed the paper clip with his eyes, twisting his hands in the cuffs. The hand strayed close to his mouth and he licked his lips. There was only one way he was going to get hold of it.

"Can I...?" he said quietly to Jack, leaning closer to Jack's hand, and they both ignored him.

"My rank means something outside of the military," Andy returned, folding his arms with a decisive nod. Ianto was almost there, leaning down to where Jack's hand rested on his lap, and then he moved it again.

"Just, let me..." Ianto said, following Jack's hand up until he realised Jack was doing it on purpose. He glared, but Jack wasn't looking at him.

"You're one step up from a civilian," Jack said back at Andy, and Ianto thought the argument was ridiculous.

"Hey!" he shouted, and they both stopped staring at each other long enough to look at him. "Just stop it! No one is going to correct me." Jack looked away first, sharing an amused glance with Andy, the paper clip held way up out of Ianto's reach.

"What are you thinking?" Andy asked Jack, his voice curious, proving the argument hadn't been serious at all.

"Lean back," Jack suggested with a quirk of an eyebrow. Oh-oh. Ianto didn't like the sound of that. He shifted uncomfortably as he watched Andy comply, reclining back against the edge of the settee. "Watch." And then he tossed the paper clip at Andy. It landed on his belt buckle. Ianto switched to glare at Jack for a second, and Jack smirked at him. When he looked back at the paper clip, he saw it was balanced precariously on the belt. Any second now it would fall and be resting in a much more intimate place. He spared an instant to warn Andy with a look before he went for it.

His lips touched the belt buckle, and it had already fallen. He could feel it underneath his chin. Andy drew in a breath in shock. "He'll do anything for a paper clip," Jack said behind him conversationally, so smug that Ianto rolled his eyes as he went after the paper clip, actually blushing. "He's an administrator."

It couldn't have taken longer than a few seconds to manipulate the paper clip with his tongue so that he could pick it up in his lips, but it felt like forever, and Andy twitched beneath his lips through the trousers. Ianto sat back at last, the prize held in his teeth. He glanced down at it, and then took it into his mouth to speak, glaring at Jack again.

"I don't know why I get pink," he said resentfully, referring to colour of the metal. "And you know I can't get it to work." He still wasn't quite over what Jack had said to embarrass him, and while Jack was quiet he was going to point it out. "And can you stop talking about me as though I'm not here?"

"Blue is my colour," Jack reminded him, still annoyingly smug, "and anyway we don't have any blue ones left."

"Really?" Ianto said instantly in surprise, startled into stepping out of his accepted role. He hadn't realised that he'd handcuffed Jack that often. "No?" he asked, and Jack shook his head. "I'll order some," Ianto noted, praying he'd remember when this was over.

"Ianto, practice makes perfect," Jack declared, returning to the conversation. "I suggest you make it work if you want a bit of resolution." Oh, no! Ianto nodded, and began to wonder how he was going to get the paper clip from his mouth to his hands where they were behind him. It wasn't as if he could reach up to get it. He looked at Jack helplessly. "You've also got about two hours to get free before Toshiko comes in." His heart thudded in his chest. Only two hours? Then he thought of what Jack had said about resolution. How would he get through two whole hours?

"You haven't forgiven me at all, have you?" Ianto asked, trying his very best to look forgivable as Jack watched him. Jack's grin turned into a little laugh.

"Not quite," he said, "but carry on like that and we'll get there in the end."

Jack came closer, and there was something he intended to do. Ianto saw what it was and shook his head in silence. Jack only smiled slightly.

"Mm-mm," Ianto said, keeping his lips pressed closed as Jack began to kiss him. He'd been tricked like this before, and he had no intention of letting his prize go. Absolutely not. Not even when Jack was gentle like that, and not even when his fingertips stroked the side of Ianto's face, making him want to voice his pleasure. He made a humming noise again, determined to win.

Jack carried on, being gentle, coaxing. It was gorgeous. He felt Jack tracing the shape of his ear with a finger before touching on his pulse. His other hand moved to Ianto's chin in a familiar way and it was irresistible. Ianto opened his mouth to the kiss knowing what he was going to lose by it but Jack made it so that he couldn't care.

He couldn't possibly describe it to anyone – what it was like, kissing Jack Harkness. There were sensations; firm pressure that morphed into sweet invasion, and just a little hint of suction that made him think of other things, but it wasn't just that. Jack's taste was unlike anything else. His kiss was never unwelcome, and that was how he won.

When Jack drew away, Ianto kept his eyes closed for a second and breathed in deeply, licking his lips. A wet, sucking sound came from Jack and his eyes flew open just as Jack took the paper clip from his mouth with a victorious grin. "That's mine!" Ianto accused, feeling more than cheated. Jack shrugged.

"Now it's mine again." Ianto didn't accept it, and he narrowed his eyes, truly annoyed for the first time. Jack suddenly looked shrewd. "Shall I show him what else you'll do to get this back?"

Several things ran through Ianto's mind, each more intimate than the last, and he saw himself doing them, because resistance really was useless. "No," he said, almost begging, his anger forgotten. "Please."

Jack smiled and then threw the paper clip onto the floor before the settee, which he'd thoughtfully spread the duvet out over before interrupting the kiss with Andy. Ianto watched, partly glad that Jack had mercy on him, partly annoyed at what he was about to do. He gifted Jack with one last glare before he dived for the paper clip, turning at the last moment, feeling around on the duvet behind him with his hands frantically as he stared towards the settee at them both from a reclined position.

Jack followed him a split second later, and Ianto tried harder to get the paper clip, unable to find it with his fingers. He raised himself a little and tried to look over his shoulder. Jack was on his knees, and he leaned over Ianto, resting his chin on Ianto's shoulder to peer behind him too. "Down a bit," Jack suggested with a devilish grin.

Swallowing a sigh, Ianto lay back and tried to shuffle down the duvet as Jack settled on top of him, aware that he was rubbing himself against Jack because he could feel the beginnings of Jack's arousal as he jerked around on the duvet, still searching for it. They rocked against each other for a few moments before his fingertips touched against the metal. He was definitely rolling around on the floor with the boss. Ianto let his head fall back and laughed at the thought of it as Jack kissed his neck then rolled over to lay beside him. It was always fun, no matter what Jack did.

"Are you joining us?" Jack asked, throwing his comment to the settee, and soon Andy was with them on the duvet. Ianto concentrated on unfolding the paper clip so that he could use it on the handcuffs. It was more difficult than it seemed when you couldn't see what you were doing. Ianto looked at the ceiling as he concentrated, trying to get a little hook on the end of the metal, and then Jack and Andy kissed right in front of him.

He was still between them, so they were sat up, leaning over him to do it. Their hands reached out for each other, and the kiss was so deep that Ianto forgot about everything else. He'd seen other people kiss Jack. It'd never made him breathe faster the way this did, never made him aware of his heartbeat or made him feel restless. This did all that and more. When they drew apart they both glanced down at him. He had to get free! Ianto took a second to thank fate because the forgotten paper clip was still in his hand. Now all he needed was to remember what he was supposed to be doing with it.

To be continued...

**Author's Note:** Thank you for reading! I hope you had as much fun as I did writing it. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones or PC Andy Davidson. They belong to Russell T Davies, their wonderful writers, the BBC and also to John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd and Tom Price for being beautiful, awesome and good at acting. Please don't sue me. I make no money from this. I'm just borrowing the characters, and I promise they'll be clean when I give them back. Andy has brought along this brilliant crowd control water cannon thing and lots of enthusiasm (though I do envisage Jack jumping in front of Ianto protectively a lot).

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**Author's Notes:**

First of all, thank you to my reviewers, who are all awesome and fabulous. If you want to be added to my list of awesome and fabulous people, please leave a review.

**lady1question79: **Thank you for letting me know the prose flowed nicely! I really appreciate hearing that, and it makes me write more. I hope you enjoy this new chapter as well.

**CrazedEnigma:** Thank you so much! I'm not sure if I'm glad I distracted you from revision, but I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. And I am writing it, albeit very slowly since I have this one on the go as well.

**Lady Da's Brain: **lol, thank you for the review. You made me giggle with the jaw comment in the middle of a long depressing day at work in a call centre. Much appreciated!

**Thedoctorshope900: **Glad you like it Allysson! And your wish is my command (see warning below), although there will be much more, and better, later in the story.

**Baz: **Of course I mentioned you! You are on my list of favourite people, that is, people who comment g I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and hope you continue to enjoy it. As you correctly say, there are half-naked men hanging around together. It was never really much of "What Happened Next…?" was it? giggles

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**WARNING!!**

**Yes, you too. Stop right there. **

That's better. This chapter is full of mature sexual homoerotic imagery, and while it's not very graphically described, if such things offend you, you may wish to skip this and just imagine that they had a really good time. After which said good time, Andy went to work and Jack and Ianto wished they could catch up on their sleep but were instead subjected to a full day of Tosh, Owen and Gwen.

Now for the rest of the notes.

Well! It's been a long and arduous road. I lost my computer. Well, that is to say it stopped working, I didn't really lose it. I mean, I wasn't carrying it around with me only to accidentally leave it on the Post Office counter like an old umbrella or something. Anyway, Poodle supplied a working computer, which I am now using to write again. She's wonderful!

Ok, not so long and arduous then. In fact, it was more or less just about an hour and a half down the M1. Although strictly speaking, taken from start to finish, that is a long road. I'm a writer (of some description), therefore I exaggerate. Anyway, the upshot is that everyone should be thankful to Poodle for the continuance of the story, and this chapter is dedicated to her in thanks.

Also, I had some kind of writers' block while coming up with this, which might have been caused by the enforced break. I truly hope that the chapter hasn't suffered for it. I hate writers' block, because as a child I wrote stories. Seriously, I was going through some old things with my mother recently, and found a book in which I'd written (at the age of six or so) a story all about alien abduction. Really, it wasn't very good, and the aliens in it were quite sinister. Anyway, something happened when I left school, and I couldn't write for years. Now it really scares me. I don't want it to happen to me again.

This is too much fun to be beta read. If you do see any mistakes, please, _please_ point them out to me and I'll correct them. Thank you. I hope you enjoy it, and it doesn't bore you too much. :)

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**Chapter Six**

Andy and Jack were working on getting carried away with each other as his desperate fingers fiddled with the thin sliver of metal. All three of them were shirtless, and Ianto couldn't help but drink in the sight of them before him. Jack's braces were draped over his upper thighs, and as always it made him seem younger somehow. In contrast, Andy didn't seem as boyish now that his uniform shirt was gone, not with that light dusting of blond hair on his chest. Strange, the differences between them.

He was still watching when the kiss ended. Jack seemed extremely satisfied with himself, while Andy had his eyes closed, and his breathing was a just little faster than before. Andy licked his lips, not opening his eyes.

"Wow…" Andy said, and Jack chuckled confidently, one hand still lightly cradling Andy's face before letting him go. "Yeah…" He sounded like he wanted more, and Ianto wasn't entirely shocked. He knew that feeling rather well himself, from every single time with Jack. Yet surprisingly, when Andy opened his eyes, he immediately turned to look at Ianto.

"Always like that, is he?" It brought to mind the club, and the way Andy had asked the question then. Ianto laughed.

"Honestly, you should have put the handcuffs on him," he advised, only half-joking, aware in the periphery of his vision of Jack, who was obviously somewhat put out that Andy's attention had drifted away from him so easily. But this moment was between them, and something about seeing Jack kiss him had made Ianto want Andy more than ever.

"Yeah?" Andy tilted his head in the most adorable way, intrigued, then turned his gaze back to Jack as if considering it. Jack frowned, and Andy gave Ianto a sidelong glance. "Is he about to try and threaten a police officer?"

"Yep," Ianto said with a nod, a little annoyed because the paper clip thing really wasn't working out for him at all, when all he wanted to do was pull Andy down onto the duvet with him. "He's really easy." Jack looked at him then, and Ianto gulped, fingers stilled as he realised he'd just more or less said that Jack was predictable. Oops.

"And _he_ doesn't know how to stay out of trouble," Jack said meaningfully. Andy looked between the two of them and quickly stepped into the role of mediator.

"Would it help if I cautioned him?" Andy asked in dry amusement, and Jack suddenly smirked at Ianto's betrayed expression. "I mean, we do plan to hold him here, don't we?" Hearing Andy say that conjured up a wonderfully warm fleeting image of the three of them, holding each other when all of this was done, and he just had to have said it on purpose. One glance and Ianto knew he was right, because Andy actually tried to look innocent. Maybe he could have carried it off if he was still wearing the white uniform shirt, but not now.

"Really, I don't know!" Jack said in mock exasperation, waving a generous hand in Ianto's general direction. "Give it a go!" When Andy didn't move, Jack grasped his hand and led him to rest his palm on Ianto's chest. Ianto took a deep breath in, not sure which of them he wanted to look at the most. Andy's eyes were still a deeper blue after the kiss he'd shared with Jack. Actually, he was looking less and less boyish all the time. Since Jack's palm covered his, Ianto felt the touch as a heavy restraint, and his breathing made that impression all the more real to him.

"You don't have to say anything," Andy said to him at last, more confident than before, no longer needing Ianto's reassurance now that Jack was more or less inviting him to touch, his voice deep and purposeful as Jack dragged their hands downwards together. Ianto swallowed. There wasn't anything he could think of that he wanted to say. In a more reserved part of his mind, he understood perfectly that Jack was using him to seduce Andy – and that he really, really liked it. He gasped a little when Andy's fingertips hit the part where his bare skin ended. As if Jack had told him to, Andy started to undo the belt with that one hand, staring at Ianto all the while.

Andy lowered himself to the duvet and rested his chin on his free arm, looking into Ianto's eyes for a moment before dipping his head to take another kiss. Ianto kissed him back with a smile, all the while aware of Jack who had moved down to his feet and was currently removing his shoes. Somehow, feeling Jack loosening the laces made him more aware of being restrained, and he began to work with the paperclip again, wishing it would do what it was supposed to do.

Andy pulled back slightly, their lips were still touching. "But," Andy whispered, seeming to consider. "It may harm your defence," he advised softly, the shape of the words tickling against Ianto's lips, tone so intimate that Ianto didn't even recognise the phrase in all of the excitement. His mind latched onto the opposing ideas of harm and defence as though it was erotic threat and suggestion all at once, and he struggled in the cuffs just to relish his own helplessness. Andy pulled further away, and the belt suddenly tightened for a second before Andy undid it, and then began on the buttons.

"If you don't mention," he continued, and Ianto just watched him speak, utterly captivated, wondering how he could still be aware of Jack taking off his socks. He'd showered not too long ago, but his feet still felt sensitive when they were bare and he scrunched his toes. "When questioned," Andy said, pausing again to look at him, and Ianto waited for the question breathlessly – whatever it was, it was going to be a yes. "Something which you later rely on in court."

Ianto's pulse suddenly quickened as he remembered Andy's offer of the caution to Jack. His fingers began to fumble with the paperclip, and he closed his eyes to concentrate better, away from the sight of Andy looming over him. He wondered bizarrely if Andy was going to ask to be accompanied to the station, and sniggered. That stopped when he felt fingers sliding in between the open buttons and caressing him through his underwear. It was certainly arresting, Ianto had to admit that. Just those fingers, running up and down over him, pressing a little, and just like before his body reached out to the touch as though to betray him.

They were really going to do this. It occurred to Ianto perhaps for the first time just what was happening – and here he was handcuffed throughout it when all he wanted was to make Andy touch him properly. He grunted, dissatisfied with the teasing, and though he had arched his back to give his hands enough room to work, now he forgot that in favour of lifting his body into Andy's touch, desperate for more of it.

Andy continued as if he hadn't made a sound. "Anything you do say may be given in evidence against you." Ianto was sure that phrase had never sounded so much like a sensual promise. He opened his eyes again, and something in his expression must have communicated his desire, because the blue of Andy's eyes darkened in response to it.

"You're going to use my own words against me?" Ianto rephrased it as a question, remembering how well Andy had done that so far, still longing for that touch to intensify, eyes flickering down as if to beg it of him. He knew Jack was watching them, and he swallowed as Andy's hand closed around him, his breathing becoming rapid and shallow as he closed his eyes, feeling his lips drawing back from his teeth a little because this, right here, this was what he wanted more than anything else.

"Do you understand the caution as I have stated it?" Andy asked, ignoring Ianto's own question, and Ianto couldn't speak. Andy squeezed him just a little; just enough for that tingling pleasure to rush to his brain and his heart like a drug.

"Yes!" he managed, gasping, and he heard Jack laugh somewhere in his mind. "Yes…" Ianto wanted to lose himself in it, but made an unsatisfied groan when his reward for giving Andy the correct answer resulted in losing his touch. Ianto wished he had said no. Then again, Andy seemed to be intent on removing the rest of his clothes, and that was fine with him. He wriggled a little to help as he turned his attention with a little less finesse to the cuffs. He wasn't even seriously trying anymore.

A couple of Jack's "supplies" landed on the duvet beside him, and he lifted his head to see what Jack was doing, only to realise Jack had taken over the whole trouser thing while Andy got more… comfortable. Jack was already quite comfortable, and Ianto just stared at him. He could never get enough. How could there be a Jack, and there not be a God? Impossible! It was like the thing with the watch and the watchmaker all over again, although Ianto knew, in a way that most people didn't – Jack Harkness was far better than any watch, even the ones with buttons.

"Are you free yet?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow. Ianto sighed and tried to feel for that place with the end of the paperclip. Just then, Jack decided to run a hand up Ianto's right shin, hot fingertips and warm palm moving up over his leg, stroking the hair in the wrong direction. Ianto swallowed suddenly in a rush of heated animal desire and lost the thread of his struggle with the cuffs as Andy looked on.

"Cheat," he muttered quietly, half to himself, and Jack chuckled.

There was the lightest sensation on the soles of his feet, and Ianto cried out, raising his knees and putting his feet flat on the duvet to protect himself from Jack's revenge for the comment. "Andy," Jack said, turning his head to gaze at him as Ianto did. "I've just shown you one way you can make a grown man squeak." He'd squeaked? Ianto frowned and shook his head as Jack took hold of one of his ankles, obviously fully intending to carry on with the tickling of his feet.

"No! No way!" he said, far louder than he had any need to, but he wasn't going to allow it. "Stop it!" His heartbeat was racing now in a different way as he struggled violently, half-aware that Andy was holding him down while Jack got hold of his foot and… He tried to keep it in! He really tried while he thrashed his weight around, trying to get away from them. But after only a few seconds, Ianto began to laugh.

It couldn't have lasted for longer than a minute. He laughed, and he fought, and in the middle of it all, Jack fired questions at him. "How many minutes is in one and three quarter hours?"

"One hundred and five," he gasped out, giggling at the same time. "Stop!" God, he sounded like a telegram! Andy was laughing at him too, he just knew it.

"How many seconds?" Jack persisted, and Ianto was sure that he almost screamed at that bit. Anything to get Jack to leave his feet alone, and he provided the answer his brain came up with immediately. Anything to satisfy him.

"Six thousand," Ianto said, and then dragged a breath into his lungs, still trying to get away even now. "Three hundred!" The laughter came back, carrying him with it until he was weak and boneless, and he tried to make a sound that was a scream and a growl at the same time. "Please!" he called out at last, begging for it to be over. And then it was.

"See," Jack said to Andy as Ianto's heart resumed a more normal rhythm, and Ianto wondered if they had been having some kind of conversation without him while he was struggling. It sounded that way. "He can even multitask."

"Can't you?" Jack asked him with a little smirk. Ianto thought he knew what Jack was trying to get him to say, and didn't like it one bit. He sighed, resisting the humiliation, and then behind him, where he had been playing with the paperclip, there was a quiet and unobtrusive click. Ianto moved one hand experimentally, and then laughed again, staring up at Jack in utter, delighted victory.

"Yes!" And he was free. He brought his free hand up, to pull Jack down to him and then roll them over together. The cuffs still dangled from his other wrist, but he didn't care about that. They kissed again, briefly, but Ianto's exhilaration came from freedom. It couldn't have been longer than twenty minutes, but it felt like he had been restrained for hours, and now he used his hands to touch as much of Jack as he could at once while Jack laughed beneath him.

Someone else pulled at his hand with the cuff still attached, and Ianto glanced around straight at Andy. Instantly, his attention was caught between the two of them. Andy won easily. Ianto allowed him to unlock the other handcuff in silence.

"You are released from custody," he noted with just a hint of humour in his eyes. Ianto grinned as he rolled onto his back and reached out to draw Andy down to him.

"Oh, don't worry," he said, looking Andy up and down and wondering where he wanted to go first. "I think you're still going to be able to detain me." They lay beside each other and Jack got close behind him. Their combined body heat was beyond warm. It was slightly shocking and oh, so exciting. Naked skin against skin, and his mind began to paint pictures of some of the things they could get up to as he leaned his head back to better inhale Jack's scent. Six thousand seconds, ticking away one after the other. It could never be enough.

"Well, yes," Andy said quietly. "But I think we're beyond the interview stage, now."

Ianto knew he was smirking, enjoying the banter again. "Does that mean you aren't going to ask me any questions?" he teased, completely merciless, wanting to see what Andy's answer would be as much as he wanted the rest of it.

"Well, that depends," Andy said clearly, and Ianto should have known he wasn't going to win just by the way he began. "Is there going to be anything you won't adequately explain with your mouth?" They were laid side-by-side now, and behind him, Jack laughed again quietly as Ianto just stared, surprised to be losing. Of course, as Andy had no doubt planned, he also instantly imagined some things he could do with his mouth.

"I might use my hands," Ianto pointed out, still glad to be free of the handcuffs, running his fingertips up over Andy's arms lightly. He had the most adorable pale freckles on his shoulders, and Ianto suddenly leaned in to brush his lips over Andy's collarbone, somewhat satisfied when the other man stopped breathing for a second before continuing.

"I know body language," Andy said then. "And I'm sure I can pick it up. After all, I've kind of got one myself." Ianto laughed despite himself, allowing Andy to win this time as well. He thought they might be even. But he leaned back and turned his head a little until Jack looked at him instead of Andy.

"Do you want to help out at all?" he asked pointedly.

Jack just shrugged, one heavy hand on Ianto's thigh. "No, why? I think he's doing just great on his own." Well, he had asked for it. Ianto rolled his eyes and turned his head back to face Andy. Jack must have taken it as some kind of opportunity because he felt lips on the back of his neck, just below his hairline. Oh, he knew there was something about Jack's kisses – but knowing it didn't stop him from closing his eyes as a long hot lazy shiver made its way down his spine.

For the first time, as that feeling translated itself into desire, it occurred to him that while Jack was easy, it had been so very easy for them to get Andy here as well. Yes, Jack was irresistible, and he knew that, but still… he opened his eyes and found Andy staring at him. His eyes lingered on Ianto's lips before he came closer, initiating another kiss. He was different to Jack, not so overwhelming, and Ianto struggled towards some sense of what the difference really was.

As he enjoyed the closeness and played his part, Ianto found himself thinking back on what had happened between them since meeting outside the gents at that club. He remembered that first conversation, the kitchen and the covert interrogation, that touching flash of integrity and conscience that had made him do what he did to Jack, and now this. Andy wasn't kissing him; they were kissing each other. That was the difference. The kiss between them was an extension of their conversation and their banter. Playful, teasing and neither of them could stop trying to win.

Actually, going on from that, if that was what the kissing was like after the banter, what would the sex be like? Ianto pressed closer to Andy in desire, wanting to know, wanting to have him. Andy was quirky, intelligent and as well as that there was something else, something he just couldn't quantify. It occurred to him then that Andy was kissing him and not Jack, despite his reaction earlier, and it made him smile just a little, because he realised Andy wanted him in return. Again, he remembered realising earlier in the kitchen that he was Andy's choice of company over Jack in the Conference room. He hoped this could carry on, and secretly he was kind of already jubilant, because he didn't think it would be like Jack to suddenly put a stop to it. All they needed was time. So much more than six thousand seconds.

But it would have to count for now, and Ianto began to guide Andy in deeper, encouraging him to touch and experiment as he lost himself in the planes and contours of Andy's body, delighting in every hiss of indrawn breath and the taste of his skin. So different to Jack, but wonderful and thrilling and new. Body language. He suspected Andy had training in it.

Jack seemed happy to leave them to it, spurred on by an agenda of his own, which had Ianto losing his place at times, because how could he concentrate his attention when Jack's lips brushed up over his waist like that, making him feel each one of his ribs? And how could he remember what he was doing when Jack's fingertips tickled against the back of his knees, making him laugh in memory of how Jack had tormented him earlier?

Of course, it didn't escape him that while he was leading Andy, Jack was meanwhile making love to him. In fact, Jack lavished attention on every part of Ianto that he could reach, and it felt so good at times that he was sure he became lazily submissive, caught between the two of them while his body stretched and moved and turned the way they wanted it, the way they encouraged it between them.

They had too little time, and so, almost too soon Ianto found himself caressing Andy with his hand, trying to get him off and knowing it was working because he could see it in the darkness of his eyes, smell it in the clean sweat that covered them both, and taste it in his kisses which were so much more spontaneous and messy than before. And then Andy was doing the same thing to him, and it didn't take anything further for Ianto to remember a game he'd once played with Jack in the sleeping space. If he imagined it he could still feel the cool whisper of breath on his face that had made him lose. Instantly he wondered if it was a game that could be played with three.

Everything Jack did behind him made him feel relaxed and treasured, while everything Andy did made him feel powerful and barely in control of the raging of his body and blood. "Any questions?" he asked, needing and receiving enough so that it was a harsher and less playful question than he originally intended. Behind him, Jack moved on to something else, and Ianto suddenly breathed in deeply, bucking forward into Andy's hand automatically as Jack's tongue circled around him, barely entering him, just playing for now.

Curious, Andy peered over his shoulder, and despite his own lust, he managed a rejoinder as witty as Ianto had come to expect. "Yeah," he said with just this little quirk of a smile. "Are you all right?"

His left hand flailed around, desperately searching for something to hold onto, and found Andy's upper arm, squeezing the muscle there as he adjusted to the sensations that were currently rocking him between them. "All right," he said blankly, as if he had forgotten what it meant as Andy's hand slowed right down, slowing him down with it so that he relaxed enough for Jack to push his leg up, making it easier.

They shouldn't be able to team up against him this way. Everything that mattered to him was the way Andy's hand gripped him, the way he moved it. That was what it was all about. Everything that he could feel was the way Jack's tongue caressed him, still not entering him, just playing around the outside, and he was so sensitive there. "Jack," he managed at last, breathless, torn between them.

"Hmm…?" Jack questioned from his current position, and Ianto felt the vibration of his voice. He gulped and made a mental note not to make Jack speak again. Or… maybe he should. He wasn't sure anymore, but he was aware that Andy was now using his free hand to keep Ianto's leg in the perfect position for Jack to… Oh, God! Ianto gave up on breathing for a few more of those six thousand seconds.

Andy peered over his shoulder again in obvious fascination, and Ianto felt vaguely alarmed. "Don't!" he begged urgently. "Don't ask him anything!" Jack must be evil, because he managed to make a sound that was like a laugh, and again Ianto felt it, this time actually inside him. Belatedly, he realised his right hand had fallen still and slack, but he couldn't seem to get it to work at all.

"Jack," he whispered eventually when Jack stopped. He couldn't think of anything else as he heard the pop of the tube of lubricant that Jack had brought back with him along with the paperclip. He felt exposed and vulnerable, and just slightly cold because he was wet with saliva, and he shivered. The cold feeling didn't last for long though, because soon Jack was using his fingers, teasing him into accepting them, and he held still as Jack's other arm wound tight around him, forearm over his chest like a steel band. As invasive as it was, somehow it didn't feel quite so shockingly intimate as Jack's tongue had.

He closed his eyes, aware that Andy had stopped touching him as Jack's lips dragged tantalisingly over the side of his neck and his shoulder. He struggled just a little then, feeling hot and useless, wanting Andy's hand to touch him again, but Jack had him so that he couldn't really move.

"Like you need handcuffs," he murmured sarcastically, and Jack laughed softly into his ear, little warm puffs of breath that made him remember to breathe himself, if a little shakily.

"You know I never do," he confided, exuding confidence the way he always did, and Ianto only just recognised it when the fingers changed to being something much hotter. Jack was so good at making it all seamless and fluid. He swallowed as Jack eased inside him, trying hard not to enjoy it so much. "They do seem to get you in the mood, though," he pointed out, and Ianto struggled a little again, opening his eyes, only to stop fighting Jack's embrace when he caught Andy's eye.

There was a somewhat sharp movement behind him as Jack jerked his head back commandingly, and Andy moved up the duvet, letting go of his hold on Ianto's leg and leaving it to Jack. Ianto watched, completely caught, as he realised what Jack was going to have him do. He really hoped Andy wasn't going to make any smart comments while he was unable to reply. That wouldn't be fair. Fortunately, when it came to that, as it turned out Andy didn't appear to be able to say much of anything except – strangely – some kind of muttered musing on aliens in Cardiff. Obviously, he was trying not to think about it.

Those six thousand seconds must have dwindled to almost nothing by the time they had both done, and yet when someone could walk in at any second, well, that tended to be the exact time that Jack chose to focus on him. Jack had to threaten him with the handcuffs as he showed Andy some of what he could do with a clever tongue. Oh, he had a clever tongue, all right! Unfortunately, Ianto couldn't comment on it when Jack kept taking his breath away like that. He learned that there were things he never wanted to hear Jack say. Things like: "This is how you make him beg," and: "This is how you make him forget how to beg."

They were going to be having words later.

Amazingly, Andy was changing shifts, and so he went straight back out to work again. Ianto hoped he would be all right with the lack of sleep, and there was an awkward moment where Jack had to allow Andy to leave without retconning him. Still, what they'd done seemed to inspire trust, because Jack eventually shook Andy's hand as if they were old friends.

And then they were alone. There were going to be words, but they didn't turn out to be his. As he turned away, fully dressed, gathering up the bedding he had brought for Jack from the sleeping space earlier, Jack sat down on the settee and stared at him, his eyes icy and hard.

"If you ever do that to me again," he said, "I'll do it to you." There wasn't any doubt what Jack meant. Ianto closed his eyes briefly and nodded. It was a serious threat. He could tell the difference in Jack between serious and teasing.

"Don't make me," Jack said then, and he was begging. Ianto opened his eyes to find such a wonderful look of love and pleading on Jack's face that he would have promised anything all over again, even if it had involved the entirety of the South Wales Police Force.

"I won't," he said, sincere, and after a kiss to seal it they just barely managed to make the place presentable before Toshiko came in. There was the slightest scent of sex in the area with the settees, but Tosh didn't seem to notice it, or if she did, she was intelligent enough not to mention it to either of them. Ianto rather thought it might be the latter, considering the way she thanked him for her coffee and then inhaled the steam that rose from it.

To be continued…

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**Author's Note: **Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it as much as they did. This story is going to be continued… I just wanted you to know that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones and Andy Davidson still do not belong to me, but to their wonderful writers, Russell T Davies, the BBC, and to John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd and Tom Price for being brilliant and good at acting. I'm just borrowing them, and promise I will put all three of them in the shower together before the end. I make no money from this, please don't sue me.

**Author's Notes:**

Ok… where to start with my thanks…

Wow – there are so many of you! First of all, the people who've commented since I wrote my last chapter:

**lady1question79: **Thank you so much! Oh, I'm glad you liked the threesome aspect – it's nice to hear when I've taken someone with me on a trip into the old imagination. Here, at last, is what happens when Andy comes back in. There a tiny bit of plot, but if you read it fast I promise you probably won't even notice ;)

**DawnElizabeth: **Thank you! And as if by magic that's past its use by date, eventually another chapter appears. I hope you like this one too.

**Lady Da's Brain: **Thank you again for your reviews – they always make me smile. Your last one did send me off into a little bit of a daydream, however. I know I'll be getting right on that pairing with a credit and a nod to you just as soon as I've finished here. Andy does have a bit of work to do yet…

**Baz: **Thank you! And of course he's coming back. There's no way Jack can let him walk away after that… not without retconning him anyway. And Jack's not thinking of retcon yet…

**neoandtheangrywhiteflag: **You've got one hell of a long username there. Thank you for the review! I hope you like the new chapter!

**Hotflower901: **Ah, the smut, yes. It gets worse… or better… depending upon which way you want to look at it. I hope you enjoy this as well as the rest.

Also, a big thank you is going out to all the people at **torchwoodforum** who have helped me with this big idea, and haven't lost patience with me, despite some provocation.

Also, praise be upon Nutronic for suggesting the "Big Brother" comment. You rock! (and to everyone else: Nutronic has a great radio show on sinefm called Radiotron nods)

I think that's everyone. If I've missed any of you out, please feel free to hit me over the head with a stale french stick. Or if you really want to correct me, get one of those old wooden rulers, and I'll do anything you say... nods

This either works, or it's terribly overdone. I'm hoping it works. I also really hope you enjoy it! When I could write it, I did actually have fun.

I will warn anyone who isn't aware of me that there is going to be mature sexual homoerotic imagery in this. If such things offend you, just don't read it. Seriously.

Pip :)

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**The Hunt – Chapter Seven**

"Yeah…" The voice that echoed out into the office from the other end of the telephone line was heavy and deep, and just a little rough around the edges. The speaker suddenly inhaled, making it noisy, letting the breath out again in a low intermittent groan. It conjured up a perfect image of someone being woken by a phone call, and Ianto smiled. Jack didn't.

"You're working tonight," Jack informed Andy over the loudspeaker on his office telephone. It was the first thing he said, and Ianto could almost feel Andy's disorientation in the short silence that followed.

"Oh, it's you," Andy said in the end, not an ounce of surprise in it, and then his voice changed. "Hi, Andy!" he said brightly. "Well, hello again, Jack! Killed any aliens lately?" Ianto resisted the urge to smile again, while Jack just glanced briefly at the telephone, unimpressed.

"And no, I'm not," Andy argued tiredly without waiting for a reply, dropping the sarcasm, still not quite awake enough to really understand what he was involved in. "I was on a long shift already this morning and I need to sleep."

Momentarily, Ianto reflected on his own day, during which he and Jack had not only put in a day's work, but had also caught up on their own sleep. Obviously, Andy didn't keep a clock near the bed, something that he proved with his next sleepy question. "What time is it?"

"Eleven-thirty." Jack replied, making Ianto check his watch even though he knew it was a lie. There was a kind of sudden rustling, a somewhat painful-sounding bang, and a muffled curse from the other end of the phone. Jack smiled at last - coldly. "Minus one hour."

"…" The stony silence from the other end could have been filled with any number of colourful and derogatory names. It was just that kind of silence.

"We'll be expecting you," Jack said.

"Expect away," returned Andy, careless, the huff clearly carrying into the office. "I'm not getting out of bed."

"Yes, you are." Jack would not be argued with. Ianto looked to the phone as if it might have the answer. Eventually, Andy replied.

"You know, you could always try asking me to come around," Andy pointed out. "I know it's old-fashioned, but…" There was a pause that was filled with movement, and Ianto could quite clearly imagine Andy sat on the side of the bed now, phone held to his ear. "I mean, I have been known to turn down invitations before, but I'm sure I wouldn't do that to you, Jack." It wasn't quite sarcasm, just teasing, and Ianto saw Jack almost smile at Andy's words. "Not when it's such good coffee." Jack's eyes flickered to him, a searching look in them, and Ianto kept the eye contact. "Even if it is a tad too much like Russian Roulette."

"I'm giving you one hour," Jack said after a short pause, dropping his gaze and looking away from Ianto back to the phone.

"Aye, aye, Captain!" And if a phone could salute – it surely did. Ianto resisted the urge to giggle at Jack's genuine astonishment. "Incidentally, how much sleep does _he_ get?" And Ianto's amusement vanished, just like that.

"He gets me up," Jack confided to Andy after a short deliberating breath and a sidelong glance at Ianto, as though he was talking to a sympathetic friend. He did actually remember waking Jack up, but it hadn't been at all like this – had it? Actually, now he kind of remembered Jack wanting to sleep in a bit longer, but it had been easy to convince him otherwise. Well, five minutes worth of easy, anyway.

"Really?" Andy said, coughing a little, taking Jack's words literally. "When I get there, I'll have questions."

Jack wasn't fazed at all by the way Andy had deliberately mistaken his words. "Good. You now have less than one hour to come up with them."

"All right! All right!" Andy snapped back, clearly tired of being bullied. "There's no need to get the whip out." Ianto cringed slightly. Not the best thing Andy could have said to Jack Harkness. As he expected, Jack didn't even miss a beat.

"If that's what it takes to make you –" he began with a smile, and then stopped when the phone line came out with an endless electronic drone. Andy had put the phone down on his end. Calm and collected, with barely a raised eyebrow, Jack leaned forward and ended the call. Then he graced Ianto with a slight nod and a look of satisfied accomplishment.

"He's on his way."

* * *

"Where do you want to start this time?" Ianto asked, deliberately turning away from the sight of Andy to bring up all of the screens they would need. One monitor for the PNC, another for the electronic files they kept here, and yet another for the CCTV footage Torchwood had. They didn't keep all of it, but the last two weeks were stored just in case it could be used on an investigation. It would probably come in handy for this.

Andy had turned up while he was getting refreshments ready, and Ianto had returned to find Jack and Andy getting along like old friends. What might have been awkward after the night before didn't turn out to be so fearsome at all. It was probably helped by the fact that Andy wasn't in uniform. But then, why should he be?

Ianto tried to put the image of Andy wearing jeans and a casual t-shirt out of his mind, even though it was looking really good on him. Strange that Jack, for being the one to suggest they get on with the list, didn't seem to want to be involved in the making of it. He'd excused himself more or less straight away without hanging around at all. Odd – though there was paperwork for him to do. Ianto remembered putting it on his desk earlier.

Maybe it might have been best to face what had happened between them all though, since now Ianto couldn't seem to stop thinking about it, all too aware of where Andy was in relation to him, as if he had developed some strange new sense for the proximity of policemen.

He found himself glancing briefly at the glass wall to Jack's office, but there wasn't anyone there, peering out. Jack appeared to have truly left them alone together, and Ianto didn't want to examine his vague feeling of disappointment too closely.

Once all of the passwords were put in, Ianto turned his chair again, realising Andy hadn't replied to his question while he'd been lost in thought. Andy was frowning at the screens, dissatisfied in some way. "Do you know what we could really do with?"

Ianto suppressed a sigh, for the third time able to predict the way Andy's thoughts were going before he even said it. "She wouldn't do it with you," Ianto pointed out with a roll of his eyes, surprised to feel a bit resentful at being overlooked. He meant more than one thing by the statement.

"How do you know?" Andy questioned, obviously troubled at being so easily read. Really, it was clear to everyone, and Ianto just shook his head slightly. He cast his eyes down to where the files were that they had begun the night before, and said something he knew was cruel.

"Because she hasn't done it without you." It was harsh – needlessly so, and he was sorry to be saying something so wrong about Gwen, yet he wanted to make the point. The thing that Ianto had seen in Andy, the integrity that had made him go for this idea existed in Gwen, but to a lesser extent now. She was becoming less of a police officer, and more a member of Torchwood – which was as it should be. It was what Jack expected her to be. And despite the cruelty of the statement, it was the truth. Gwen hadn't made this list, and now she never would.

None of that meant he didn't want to immediately take it back when he saw the effect of it on Andy. He knew full well what Ianto meant by it, and just nodded, saying nothing, swallowing. They'd worked together before Gwen joined Jack and Torchwood. For Ianto, Gwen was slowly changing. For Andy, Gwen was lost. Ianto felt terrible, and it was all going wrong. Really – where was Jack when you needed him?

Ianto sighed and closed his eyes briefly. "Look, just forget I ever –"

"No." Andy stopped him before he could apologise, and immediately gained more of Ianto's respect. "You're right. She wouldn't – not anymore."

"But?" Ianto prompted, and Andy just smiled with a little cynicism, as if it were obvious.

"But you would," he pointed out. And it was obvious, but it wasn't fair on Gwen. Ianto shook his head in denial.

"That's not the same thing," he replied firmly, wishing the conversation could be over now.

"Isn't it?" Andy asked earnestly, and for a moment Ianto remembered all the things he had done, all the things he had endured to be in this place right here and now. No. It couldn't ever be the same. It was worse. Much, much worse. He was worse.

He was sure then, for a second, that Andy could see all of that in him. Something about Andy's regard was so forthright and knowing. Really – how did someone get to be so confident and yet still manage to be easy to hurt? He was like a puzzle Ianto wanted to solve, and Ianto realised right then that for all he knew of Gwen, he didn't know what Andy's world was like. Torchwood wasn't the same thing at all, and that was why it was changing Gwen.

"I think we should remind ourselves about what we have," Andy said gently, breaking the eye contact and reaching across Ianto's body to pick up the files that were piled on the other side of the desk before the monitors. "What's this one set up for?" he asked, gesturing at the monitor before him as he sat down that Ianto had set up for the CCTV footage.

Ianto was glad Andy was looking at the monitor instead of at him, because for a second it was difficult to breathe. Just that brief fleeting touch of Andy's arm across his chest, and he'd felt the heat of the other man through his shirt. It brought back everything that had happened the night before in such clarity Ianto took a couple of seconds to recover from the strong desire to just move closer to Andy. Again, he looked at the glass, and again, Jack wasn't stood there watching.

"CCTV footage," Ianto explained briefly, standing up and reaching around Andy to take control of the mouse, bringing up a couple of the cameras as examples. "Most of Cardiff City centre, and some of the main roads leading out."

At Andy's fleeting backwards questioning glance, Ianto smiled, feeling a little pleased with himself. He and Toshiko had worked on it between them as a kind of special project. Now, all of the council's security cameras were included, as well as some of the privately owned ones too. "We intercept the returning signal and send a stream back here where it's recorded and kept on hand for two weeks."

"And then?" Andy asked, watching the screen as Ianto showed some of the different cameras they were linked up to. Ianto inhaled quietly, enjoying standing so close. He could feel Andy's body heat prickling between them like sparks.

"Then, the space is recycled," he explained, something warm in his voice as he breathed in the scent of Andy's aftershave. Well, at least it was warm to him, Andy probably didn't even notice it. The system they had installed virtually ran itself with hardly any maintenance. It was brilliant, and that might well be because Toshiko was brilliant.

"Incredible," Andy commented, sounding rather overwhelmed by the scale of it.

"It is," Ianto said enthusiastically. "Let me show you this…" He moved closer behind Andy's chair and manipulated one of the live images, closing in on a couple of men who were stood together on a street corner as he laid a casual hand on the back of Andy's chair.

"Bloodyhell!" Andy spluttered, genuinely shocked. "What are you – big brother?" On the screen before them, some cash exchanged hands, and at that Andy raised a speculative eyebrow. "Or maybe the Inland Revenue?"

Ianto took a short, sudden breath of awareness in before he smiled. "Don't say that to Jack," he advised in amusement.

"What, big brother?" Andy asked, then turned around slightly in his chair to look up when Ianto didn't respond. Ianto shook his head a little, not wanting to admit to it. "_Inland Revenue?_"

There was a short pause as Andy studied his face, and the rather uncomfortable flush that was creeping up to his cheekbones. Only Jack could have a fetish for VAT. Only Jack could pass that same little kink onto someone else. "Incredible," Andy commented. He was either impressed, or that was sarcasm. Ianto thought it might be the latter.

"Can you think of anything else to say?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Well, yes," Andy said with a small smile, "but you're close enough that I don't have to." He hadn't known he was that obvious, and he stepped back suddenly, almost stumbling.

"Sorry," he murmured.

"And you sound so sincere," Andy said in amusement, quite obviously flirting, but he stopped when he saw Ianto glance at the glass of Jack's office again. "You also keep looking up there. He's not watching us," Andy said pointedly, a little bit of a suggestion there.

"I know," Ianto replied, wishing he could have avoided letting the disappointment creep in. Andy just looked at him for a long moment, and then blew the breath out of his mouth as if something had just surprised him.

"I know," Ianto forestalled, beginning to get slightly annoyed at how much Andy seemed to find out without even uttering a question. "Incredible. Can we get on with it?"

* * *

The first few were easy. They left the cases they had been working on in favour of the most recent since this time they had the CCTV footage to pick from. They were all unsolved murders, and it was pretty obvious what had happened to them. All they had to do was establish the victim's movements and that there wasn't any other possible motive for their death.

Ianto followed Andy's instructions, and duly made up an evidence log for each of them. There was something about setting out the events in chronological order that brought everything together perfectly. It was so much easier to see what had happened then, and before long, they had several names already for the list. But then there was a slight hiccup.

"This one," Ianto said hesitantly, frowning at the event log he had made up, dissatisfied with it because of one thing. Andy left his own work to pay attention and look over it.

"Horrible bloody death, check," Andy said with a kind of black humour. "Witness, check." Then he took in a deep breath of understanding. "Ahh…"

The victim was a male in his mid-thirties. He'd been attacked in his own garden that backed out onto an alley. The lone witness was his partner of ten years, who said she'd seen him attacked and killed by a monster from the kitchen window where she'd been stood washing the pots. Neighbours had seen nothing, but they'd heard her screams and found her with him, holding him in her arms as he bled to death. She'd been alone.

After the fact, and in light of her statement to police, she'd been examined by a psychiatrist who'd diagnosed schizophrenia and she had been deemed unfit to face trial.

"She didn't do it," Ianto said in horror, staring at a picture on his screen of a pretty blonde woman who didn't look her age, who didn't look strong enough to murder a man. Andy sighed.

"They can't diagnose the difference between latent and reactive schizophrenia," he remarked, his voice uncharacteristically sombre. There was a pause, and Ianto looked away from the screen at Andy. "It's reasonable doubt."

"How can you say that?" Ianto asked hotly, gesturing at the screen and shaking his head. "You _know _she didn't do it."

"We're not finding victims," Andy said for the first time, so serious that it cooled Ianto down a little. "We're looking for the doubt. If it's there, we can't include them."

Ianto took a deep, calming breath and sat back in his chair, rolling his head on his shoulders. "Right," he said. "Reasonable doubt." And really, even if he could have included this one, it wouldn't save her. She was lost to the world now because of what she had seen. There wasn't any doubt in Ianto's mind, but he knew what Andy meant. There was the slightest chance – unthinkable, but it was there. He sighed, then caught Andy watching him and sat up straight suddenly. For a second, he felt that stare continue before Andy turned back to his own list of names. Ianto put the man aside. He wouldn't be going onto the list.

It might have been an hour or two before he came upon the next one like that. A woman on her own in the middle of town. They had the CCTV for it, and she'd ducked into a side street to use her mobile phone and hidden herself from the view of the camera. It was harrowing to hear the screams a few seconds later without the image to go with them. Eventually, a skinny kid came out of the side street and ran off, shoes pounding the pavement.

Ianto compiled the evidence. The police had found the kid almost straight away – a local heroin addict and recently homeless. They'd had to face him with a ton of circumstantial and DNA evidence before he'd agreed to being near the scene at all. It took telling him that he had her blood under his fingernails and his image on the CCTV before he admitted to stealing from the body. Phone, purse, jewellery.

Shivering, Ianto studied it. Because she'd gone out of view, you couldn't see what had attacked her, and because he'd stolen from her, suddenly there was a motive for the murder. Albeit extremely unlikely, but in the normal world, much more likely than death by alien involvement. There must be a sewer entrance on that street – he checked and there was – but that didn't eliminate the doubt. He played the scene again and again, staring at it, listening to it, looking for the clue that would give it away. Was there a glimpse of the weevil fleeing the scene that he was missing every time? Ianto sighed heavily and went back to the beginning again.

"Look away from it," Andy said suddenly, as if in realisation, and Ianto didn't even blink as he stared at the screen.

"No, not yet," he replied, frowning. "I just want to find it. It's there somewhere – I know it is. It must be there." There was an urgency to his words, but she was already gone. He knew how it ended, because he heard that quiet, disturbing scream again, and yet, he needed to find that one piece of evidence that would put her murder beyond doubt. He must have missed it. It was opportunism, that's all. Everything pointed to it, and it was all he could think about. An image of the crime scene from earlier came to the forefront of his mind, taunting him, and Ianto shook his head a little, trying to dismiss it.

"Look away," Andy repeated, his voice lower this time, and more commanding than Ianto could remember. Andy was the police officer now, and before he could refuse again, a strong hand held his jaw, forcing him to turn his head from the screen and to look at Andy. Ianto stareed into Andy's eyes as if the answer to it all might be in those blue depths.

"You could put her name on the list eventually," Andy said quietly, gently, as if he was aware of everything, "but you can't save her." He did hear the words, and they made sense to him somewhere in a more orderly part of his mind – but all he could feel was her terror, and the warmth of Andy's fingers against his jaw. All he could remember was what it was like to stare death in the face, and the way he and Andy had kissed the night before. All he could imagine was the horror Jack must have witnessed in his long life, and then there was the sudden epiphany that Andy did that very thing too, with or without aliens or Torchwood. In the time it took for his heart to beat, Ianto realised that Andy understood his sense of desperate frustration. He understood it because he felt it himself. It was so clearly there behind the callous joking and the sarcasm, behind the calm reason, kept at bay now only because he had experience in dealing with it.

For the first time, it was occurring to Ianto just what kind of work Andy did. Beyond the idea of it, there really was work. There were awful things to be faced, and the terrible things that people did to each other – like stealing from someone who was still warm beneath their fingertips. Had she still been alive? It was all about people. A flash of the village came to him then, everyone maddened and bloodthirsty. "It's too late," Andy advised, but Ianto had forgotten all about the victim now. There was action required on his part, and he reached out to pull Andy closer to him as he leaned forward, completely unable to stop himself any more. After all this time spent together, he could almost taste that kiss again – wanted it more than anything.

The first brush of their lips was electric, as if the entire world was in agreement, and Ianto was hardly aware of standing up, of bringing Andy with him, or of pushing him back against the workstation as the kiss between them deepened and took hold.

After all of their work on the list – and it was still around them – stark photographs, witness statements, autopsy reports, and gruesome discoveries. After all of that, Andy felt so alive in his hands, strong and vital, almost trembling with all the ferocity of life. He tasted the same as the night before, and this time it was wonderfully familiar. Ianto broke the kiss to hold Andy close for a second, pressing against him when he felt Andy's arms close around his lower back.

"Unless you mean it, don't –" he began, and then stopped short when Ianto breathed hotly into his ear.

"Just…" He wanted to say so many things, but they were all jumbled up in his head. He wanted to bring up what had happened between them the night before, and explain it – explain that he'd wanted it from the very beginning. He wanted to say that he'd been touched by Andy's integrity and the idea of the list – so much so that he'd risked all that he had, including his memories, by agreeing to it. He wanted to explain that this new thing that was between them had everything and nothing to do with Jack, but he couldn't. Not so that it made sense. He wanted to say that he wanted this to happen, with or without Jack watching, but he couldn't find the words.

"Just… breathe," Ianto advised, his voice rough, wanting to hear it, feel it, needing to experience it along with him. Not this. Not senseless violence and sad endings and prisons full of people that used to be little children. And then Andy did breathe, a puff of warmth in a sigh against his neck. He could hear the breath being pulled in and out of his lungs, just a little faster.

"Feel," Ianto almost pleaded, "for me." He slid a palm down that white t-shirt so that he could touch the contours of Andy's body, feel one hard nipple stiffening against his palm.

"Live," he demanded, sure that he could almost be a killer himself just because he desired to feel Andy's fragile heart beating in the palm of his hand. But then he wasn't alone, because Andy suddenly dropped the façade and became as hungry for it as he was, as desperate for heat and action. He might have found it amusing but there weren't words for what was happening between them. To be understood and recognised. To be answered. To be given everything he wanted.

They changed position, moving each other around as they relieved each other of their clothing. The t-shirt ended up draped over the back of a chair along with Ianto's tie. His shirt on the seat of another and it felt so good as they fought to get closer, shortened fingernails scratching so that it almost hurt, fingertips pressing just a little too hard, leaving tiny bruises in their wake. But it wasn't violence, it was power.

The blood was burning in him, moving the right way, and it was working. Here and now, in this moment, nothing could weaken him. Not Canary Wharf, not anything he'd been through at Torchwood, and not the list. Their desire burnt it all away before them and made it all meaningless. They were unified in their need for each other, and whatever strength he was taking from this, he knew Andy was taking just as much.

This was almost what he had with Jack at times. The two of them, desperate and lusting, generating enough strength between them to save each other from the dark, and Ianto knew he could never have shared a moment like it with Lisa, however much he loved her. She needed him in a completely different way to Jack. But Jack needed him too, and now…

He couldn't have said if it was the exactly the same kind of sexual desire as he'd felt before. It was intensely passionate and needy, and he wanted to touch every part of Andy that he could, wanted to touch him deep, make him cry out, beg, anything just as long as it garnered a response. The force of it was taking his own breath away, but he couldn't hold anything back and they turned again as he pressed Andy back against the workstation once more. His fingers worked at the belt on his jeans as Andy gasped, looking up and behind him, and Ianto noted it for what it was – what it had to be.

"He's watching," Andy said, putting into words something that Ianto already knew, but it made him hot and suddenly aware of everything he was doing. Jack was watching from behind him. The belt open, he applied himself to the button and the zip, drawing Andy's gaze back down to him, and as their eyes met, he only said one word.

"Good."

* * *

To be continued…

**Author's Note:** Thank you for reading. I hope you're enjoying it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones and Andy Davidson do not belong to me, but to their wonderful writers, Russell T Davies, the BBC, and to John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd and Tom Price for being gorgeous and good at acting. I'm just borrowing them, and promise I will put all three of them in the shower together before the end. I make no money from this, please don't sue me.

**Author's Notes:**

Thank you to my fabulous reviewers from the last chapter!

lady1question79: Thank you so much! Wow – what a compliment! I hope you enjoy these two chapters as well. :)

potterfan89: Thank you! I kind of quite like the idea that I've managed to sell you on the threesome. Probably means I'm doing something right. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

hotflower901: Is he going to join in? Oh, yes! See below… hope you have fun!

baz: Thank you so much! So glad you're enjoying it, and there will be more plot, but here you really chapters of Jack, Ianto and Andy having fun with each other. I hope you like it!

To everyone: Sorry about the wait, but to make up for it I have posted two chapters at once. I hope you enjoy them.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

"Good," Ianto said.

They stared into each other's eyes, their breathing as heavy as their heartbeats in the silence between them as Ianto leaned forward to take another kiss, well aware that Jack was watching his every move. Making it deep, making it messy, and doing it deliberate and obvious and slow for Jack. It had to be just so when he moved back, forcing Andy to follow and chase his tongue. He imagined how it would look – almost pornographic – because if he was sure of one thing, it was that Jack was watching to see if they did this, not to make sure that they didn't.

His hands had been busy with undoing Andy's jeans, but now they roved over his skin, palms capturing in sensation what his mouth couldn't sample for the moment, taking Andy's proportions and noting angles and hollows as if he were a sculptor. The heady power was changing when he felt Andy biting on his lower lip as he pulled back, morphing into a kind of excited exhilaration.

When his hands moved back down, they were looking at each other again, lips wet with each other's kisses, and it suddenly occurred to Ianto how long Andy's eyelashes were as they swept down in a slow, exaggerated fashion before his eyes opened again.

He moved the jeans out of the way, pushing them down over Andy's upper thighs before his hands reached around Andy and slid beneath his underwear – Andy didn't stop him. He said nothing, but his fingertips pressed a little deeper into Ianto's shoulders as if he was considering pulling Ianto forward.

_Breathe… feel… live…_ These were the only words that echoed in Ianto's mind as he pushed the underwear down too, taking care with it, gaze flickering down briefly before he looked back into Andy's eyes, finally having Andy the way he wanted. He rested his left hand on the desk at Andy's hip as if to imprison him there, the other encircling him. It was happening so fast, but he couldn't stop it – wouldn't – even if Andy begged him to. But he was far from begging.

He squeezed an encouragement with his fingers and brought his hand up, eliciting a vicious little gasp from Andy as he finally broke the eye contact and let his head fall back a little. Those fingertips dug into his shoulders even more, making him grit his teeth, but he let himself enjoy the moment as his gaze travelled over Andy. From his hair that was just a touch too short at the moment to be as blond and curly as it wanted to be, and his blue eyes, eyelids slightly hooded now in desire. Over his throat, and the way his adam's apple moved when he swallowed instead of saying Ianto's name, stubborn as he was. The lines and contours of his body, muscles slightly bulging in his upper arms because of the way he held Ianto's shoulders. Dark honey hair on his chest, just a smattering of it that tapered into nothing just below his waist. Down over his flat stomach to where Ianto was touching him so slowly, hand moving up and down over him.

On the downward movement, his hand jostled the dark blond hair at the base of it, like the hair on his chest, just not quite light enough to be truly fair. As he looked up again, he moved his hand the same way as his eyes and Andy shuddered with tension, his eyes only half-open now, a darkened stormy grey instead of the usual blue, and that combined with the deep rose of his lips completed the image. Ianto felt his mouth curving into a little smile of appreciation. It was like having his own youthful, slender Adonis to play with.

"Ianto," Andy managed in a deep voice between noisy breaths, letting him know just exactly what it was. He knew what it was, because they were the same. That rush of masculine desire, so powerful. Breathe fast, feel fast, live fast… _want forever_. He was at his most vulnerable and dangerous all at once in Ianto's hand, but more than those he was beautiful.

For all that Ianto had known men and women, there were times – like this one – when he was sure that this was the best way to experience lust. There were no mysteries between them and no secrets. Andy was subject to the same primal urges and instincts that existed in him, and he knew how good it felt to be there. Knew that Andy was quivering with restrained tension, not weakness – because this was never about weakness. And Andy knew him in return.

At times, he was certain this was the best way to love. They were using each other, after the demoralising work they had done with the list, but that was all right. The strength they took from it would see them through, and save them from losing faith in human nature, because they could believe in each other. It was more than he could get from a woman… it was so much better than any kind of comfort or warmth. It was conviction. It was bright and absolute certainty, and he wanted to find it here now, with them together.

Before he even realised it, Andy's hands had moved from his shoulders, down over his chest, fingers just dragging over his nipples and over his ribs so that he shivered himself, suddenly realising what Andy's intention was and he wanted it so much he almost pleaded.

"Yes!" he said harshly, needlessly, eyes falling to watch, catching sight of where his left hand rested on the workstation over one of the black-and-white forensics photographs. With a gasp, Ianto pulled his hand away from the desk and cupped Andy's face instead, aware that Andy was undoing his trousers and wanting it as much as he wanted the kiss. They were so selfish, because Andy seemed to want both too.

As it was the night before, the kiss between them was an extension of the way they interacted with each other, which meant that this time it was hard and passionate and worshipful. It was aggressive and furious but it wasn't a fight between them. Andy gave as good as he got – and so did Ianto, building it between them and knowing it had to be out of control, because neither of them could stop. At the end of the kiss, he felt Andy's hand on him, and he'd finally caught up.

"About time," Ianto said with a small grin against his lips. As if in answer, Andy did something clever with a twist of his hand that made Ianto rock forward and bite back an exclamation of pleasure.

"Don't think I don't know exactly how to touch you," Andy said in a kind of sexy murmur. "I've about ten years of experience of that with myself."

Immediately, Ianto's mind provided him with a picture of Andy alone, touching himself, and it was so hot, he swallowed. "That's, quite a lot of practice," he replied, meaning for it to be a little dig, but he couldn't quite hide how much he enjoyed the thought of it. Andy leaned forward, so that his lips were touching Ianto's ear, and his hand did that clever little move again as he whispered.

"Next time, I'll be thinking of you."

"Yeah?" Ianto swallowed, and then couldn't help himself. "I'll bet I can give you something to think about before we've done." He was expecting a retort by now, so the little sigh that Andy breathed into his ear seemed somewhat out of character. He pulled back a little, but Andy was looking behind him again, and he remembered Jack.

"Oh, you should see…" Andy said, voice trailing off as if he couldn't describe it.

"What?" Ianto questioned, and Andy turned them around so that he could look, breaking their hold of each other to grab Ianto's wrists and press them to the desk at either side of him. He leaned back suddenly, losing his balance because of the way his trousers pulled at him, and then caught sight of Jack, still stood watching them.

"Oh…" he breathed, sure that when he'd imagined it, Jack had simply been stood, looking indifferent. Now, though, everything was different. He was stood with his palms pressed against the glass as if it was a prison keeping him away, and such an aura of longing suffused him. His entire posture spoke of it. "Jack…" Ianto mouthed at him, wanting him too, and happy to find it didn't mean he wanted Andy any less. Jack leaned his forehead against the glass as Andy began to touch him again, and Ianto put all of his effort into keeping the eye contact.

"I'm Andy," the other man pointed out, and Ianto broke the gaze he shared with Jack at last to look at him. How could it be so perfect? How could it be this easy? Surely it couldn't, but God! Let it be, because he wanted it.

"You're not getting a point for something so obvious," he teased in a low voice, and Andy laughed quietly.

"Like you're keeping score."

"Four-three to you so far," Ianto advised, and at Andy's questioning look, he explained with a small intimate smile. "Well I had to give you an extra point for putting the phone down on Jack earlier."

"I meant to ask you," Andy put in with conspiring amusement, obviously remembering. "Did he notice?"

Suddenly, Ianto was struck by the urge to laugh, and it didn't combine that well with all of the intensity. "Oh, God…" he managed while Andy and Jack both watched him, "I swear, you're just like him!" He looked up at the glass again, torn between the need to have Andy keep touching him and the desire to give in and giggle. Jack must have breathed out, because the glass suddenly fogged in front of his face, and seeing Jack furiously rubbing at the glass with his shirt sleeve to clear it was just the last straw.

"Stop!" he gasped out as he let the laughter go, reaching down to stop Andy from touching him any further because the two things just didn't go together. Andy turned with a frown to look at Jack and then shook his head.

"What?" he asked. "He's gone." Ianto looked up to where Jack had been a moment ago. Yes, he had disappeared. Probably on his way right now in fact.

"We should move to somewhere more comfortable," Ianto said, thinking of the bed, but that wasn't really big enough for the three of them.

"Any suggestions?" Andy asked, but before Ianto could speak, Jack did.

"Yeah." Jack appeared behind Andy, looking over at Ianto as his hands came to rest lightly on Andy's waist. He jumped a bit, but quickly recovered, relaxing into Jack's grip, and his eyes were on Ianto as well. "I'm powering down," Jack said, inhaling deeply as he took Andy more fully into his arms from behind. "Tidy this up." One of his hands gestured at the files he and Andy had been working on before he flattened that palm against Andy's chest. "Ianto, we're going to your place."

Unable to formulate any kind of response, Ianto just watched, breathless. Jack had closed his eyes, seeming to realise how close his lips were to Andy's neck, and angled his head to take better advantage. His dark hair was a little too long again, just falling over his eyes as he bent his head and dragged his lips up over Andy's neck, only to use his teeth to tug at Andy's earlobe. His eyes opened, and he looked right at Ianto. "I want you," Jack said. It wasn't all that clear who he was speaking to, and perhaps it wasn't clear to Jack himself either, because he suddenly looked at Andy again, with a wicked smile.

"Your place?" Andy questioned, after clearing his throat and sharing a single quick look with Jack. Ianto was completely speechless. He was slightly amazed to find that he wasn't jealous. He wanted them both, which actually made it rather wonderful to see them together. He made a couple of nonsensical sounds before he managed any real words.

"I've got…" he said hesitantly, watching to see what Jack did next with Andy in his arms, trying to remember why the flat was a good idea. Andy turned his face towards Jack, and there was a kiss between them, every bit as showy as Ianto had tried for earlier. He gulped. "A big bed…" Jack smirked. Oh, he knew what he was doing. Ianto swallowed again, just taking it all in, especially the way Andy had thrown his head back onto Jack's shoulder. Behind him, Jack was still fully dressed, and somehow that made it all the more breathtaking.

"Well, I was more thinking that Toshiko won't walk in on us in the morning, but the bed is an advantage," Jack said in a reasonable tone of voice, paying full attention to Andy's throat for Ianto's benefit, then he smiled. "Provided we get that far…"

"You only do that so that I can't say I always make the bed," Ianto retorted automatically, unable to stop himself, even when he was seeing something so hot right in front of him.

"I've never once heard you complain," Jack pointed out, suddenly looking at him. Ianto watched the way Jack's thumbs rubbed gently against Andy's hipbones, and he knew how it felt when Jack did that, so he looked at Andy, who appeared to be a bit lost for words for a change.

"You say that like he _can_ complain," Andy said, his voice heavy, and Jack grinned.

"Thank you," Ianto said warmly, glad that someone was seeing it from his side for a change. Andy just smirked at him.

"Yeah… anytime…" He turned his face to Jack. "I thought, you were… you know – powering down?" There was something very clearly challenging about the way he said it, as if Jack had gone too far, and Ianto watched as Jack let him go, his hands lingering for an instant longer.

"I should," he said, "and see to the CCTV." Again he waved a hand at the files, and spoke to both of them. "Sort this out. I'll be five minutes," he promised, and then bounded away, leaving them alone together again.

* * *

Once they were tidier, and dressed again, albeit temporarily, Ianto stood looking at the file for the nameless woman who had lost her life to make a call on her mobile phone. His fingers rested on it as if he couldn't quite let it go.

"She's not for the list, is she?" he asked with some sadness and regret. Andy took the file from him to put it with the others, and shook his head.

"No." There was a comfortable silence between them for a moment or two.

"Are you all right?" Ianto asked suddenly, wondering if he was tired. "Do you have work in the morning?"

"Yes, and no," Andy replied. "The shift this morning was for a friend," he explained. "I've got a day off."

Something selfish in him was just too pleased to hear it. That meant they had the entire night to do whatever they wanted, and the morning. "Good," he said suddenly, seeing that Jack was finished too as the main lights went down. "Let's get out of here."

"Well, I'm with you. Whatever you want." Andy's smile was actually cute. Ianto checked him out, and noticed the freckles for the first time. He'd seen them before, but he'd been a little carried away at the time. He imagined getting carried away again – soon – and with Jack there too.

"You might regret saying that," Ianto warned, and Andy shook his head, throwing a look of earnest trust at Ianto that made him feel warm and happy somehow. He might have analysed it at some other time, but for now, he only wanted to get somewhere that they could carry on where they had left off. Only, this time, he'd pay attention to the freckles…

"I doubt it," Andy said in certainty.

* * *

"Ianto?" Their footfalls echoed on the darkened streets as they walked to their destination. Ianto didn't live far enough for them to take the SUV, and really, that would just have worried the others anyway if they ended up being late in. And if they weren't late in – it would be a miracle.

"Yep?" Ianto asked, walking between the two of them briskly, wanting to get in out of the cool night air and the empty streets. It was bringing back the memory of that CCTV footage he'd been studying before, and that wasn't something he wanted.

"Toshiko doesn't have a key to your flat, does she?" Jack asked, far too casually. Ianto looked at him.

"No, Jack." He smiled, remembering something. "It's just us." Though, that wasn't actually strictly true now.

"Right," Jack said with a satisfied nod, one hand in his trouser pocket as that coat billowed out behind him. Ianto looked to the other side then, at Andy.

"He's been like this ever since Gwen called around to see where I was one morning," Ianto explained for his benefit, and Andy nodded, stealing a glance at Jack.

"He made me hide in the closet," Jack retorted at Andy, looking slightly put out. "Can you imagine that?"

"I just can't credit it, Jack," Andy said with a kind of understated shrug, and a speculative look at Ianto. "Ridiculous, really."

"It's a wardrobe," Ianto said, his voice deliberately stony. "You're not making an inference like that. Anyway – I thought you liked my suits?"

"I was in there for more than an hour!" Jack exclaimed in disgust. "You've only got six of them. I spent ten minutes with each one, and then I was _really_ bored."

Andy snickered into his hand as the argument carried on. By now of course, Ianto had forgotten all about the CCTV footage he'd been staring at and was even feeling the cold a little bit less.

"She wouldn't leave," Ianto stated, coolly defiant.

With a shake of his head, Jack peered around Ianto to look at Andy. "He made her coffee," Jack confided.

"And he didn't offer to give you one?" Andy asked. "Unforgiveable!"

There was a sudden urge in Ianto to smirk at what Andy had said, the double-entendre clear to him, but the playful animosity with Jack won out, and he took in a breath. "In these civilised times, Jack, that's what you're supposed to do when people visit."

"Twice?" Jack demanded, and Ianto met his stare evenly.

"I'm very civilised," he said.

Again, Jack took a break to peer around Ianto to Andy, and concede the point. "He _is_ very civilised."

"Yes, so I've noticed," Andy replied to Jack. There was something more than the obvious going on between the two of them – as if they were plotting against him in some way, but before Ianto could address it, Jack was on the offensive again.

"And, you were talking about me," Jack accused, sounding a little miffed.

"No, we weren't." Ianto denied it, whereas in actual fact, they had talked about Jack, for almost the full hour and a half.

"I could hear you!" Jack said loudly, and Ianto frowned at him before checking that the three of them were all alone.

"You could?" he asked, not certain, and wondering if Jack had listened to every word. Not that he'd said anything he wouldn't have said in front of Jack. Well, except for that one thing…

"It's a studio flat," Jack said. Again, this was addressed to Andy, and Ianto folded his arms as he walked.

"Oh, right," Andy replied with a nod, making Ianto look around at him.

"Do you feel like helping out at all?" he asked, and Andy shrugged.

"No, why? I think he's doing just great on his own." Something was entirely too familiar about that line, but they were at his flat now. Ianto unlocked the door, frowning, thinking about it – and then remembered. Jack had said that exact thing the night before. He also remembered the strong feeling that they were plotting something. He wasn't wrong.

To be continued…

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you for reading – I hope you enjoyed it. :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones and Andy Davidson do not belong to me, but to their wonderful writers, Russell T Davies, the BBC, and to John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd and Tom Price for being gorgeous and good at acting. I'm just borrowing them, and promise I will put all three of them in the shower together before the end. I make no money from this, please don't sue me.

**Author's Notes:**

I can't think if I have any notes for this chapter. Oh, yes! I hope you enjoy it! :)

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

There was a hook on the wall by the side of the door, and Ianto very deliberately put the keys onto it after ushering Jack and Andy inside and locking the door behind them, leaving Jack to see to the lights. Not that Jack needed much ushering – or Andy for that matter – but he wouldn't be distracted until that little thing was done. It was important. There'd only needed to be one morning of being trapped inside for an hour looking for the keys while he tried to keep Jack from breaking the door down to convince him.

He turned, hand in his jacket pocket for his tie since he hadn't put it back on, but he didn't really expect to get the chance to hang it up anywhere. By unspoken arrangement, Jack had grown used to the key ritual, but anything else was just going to be a bonus.

Andy was looking around him, walking out into the brightened main space of the room. That is all it was really – a large room, but there was a counter in the kitchen area and he'd left visual cues to separate the living and sleeping areas. A small bathroom was off in a room by itself opposite the "kitchen," and there was a short, narrow hallway between them that led to his front door.

Jack was watching Andy too, and Ianto followed them both as they went from the hallway and into the main living area, smiling slightly. He didn't feel pushed into this at all. It was all just so easy, so natural, and he wanted it all. He caught Jack's eye, and the unreadable expression there. His lips lifted a little further and to his surprise, Jack didn't smile back but looked away from him suddenly, shrugging off the coat with his usual flair and Ianto took it from him without even thinking about it.

He hung up the coat along with his own jacket. Andy didn't have a coat, having driven to the Hub earlier in the car, and then watched him looking around. He was paying particular attention to the ceiling corners as though looking for cobwebs while Jack drew the curtains.

"Where's the camera, then?" Andy asked them expectantly. Ianto and Jack looked at each other.

"There isn't one," Ianto told him, still trading glances with Jack for a second before looking back at Andy, who nodded slowly at him as if he didn't believe a word of it.

"There really isn't," Jack put in seriously. "He made me take it out." Andy raised an eyebrow at Jack, and then looked to Ianto with some consideration. Jack caught that Andy's attention had drifted from him, but didn't seem to mind, and simply carried on the conversation.

"I mean, did you know there's a law _against_ spying on your employees?" Jack asked in outraged astonishment.

"Right," Andy said slowly, talking to Jack with a hint of a smile for Ianto. He rolled his eyes a little, then looked back at Jack. "You're telling _me_ about the law." He stared, and Jack grinned, took in a quick breath, but Ianto beat him to it.

"You really didn't think that through, did you?" Ianto asked Jack in amusement, and earned himself a look of mock betrayal. Ianto laughed as he turned away, still wanting to hang the tie up somewhere. He managed it – just – before Jack came up behind him, pulling him away from the mundane and ordinary yet again, hands reaching around to the top button of his shirt.

His gaze focused on Jack's fingers, undoing the button, and a second pair of hands came from in front of him to start on the next button down. Ianto looked up and ahead, straight into Andy's eyes. They all knew what they were here for. There was something liberating in it – in Jack's easy acceptance of it – but Ianto couldn't quite think as clearly as he wanted to when Jack and Andy were working together so efficiently.

It was so fast! He looked down again, watching them both at work on his shirt, a perfect partnership, and his chest rose and fell faster with his breathing as Jack nudged it from his shoulders. They hadn't undone the cuffs, and Jack pulled his shirt down, trapping his arms behind him at the wrists, and he couldn't find it in him to protest, because he was beginning to realise they'd planned for him to be in the middle again. They were giving him exactly what he wanted.

Andy's warm palms were skimming over his stomach and chest now, taking in the front of his shoulders while Ianto's breathing got faster and faster, loud between the two of them, and what he breathed in mostly was essence of Jack – that scent of something sexual and masculine. It made him want them both. He wasn't expecting Andy to kiss him, so he jumped between them when it came so suddenly, and Jack grinned against his ear, angling his own head down to brush his lips over the back of Ianto's neck. Ianto kissed Andy back, Jack's hands on his hips, Andy's hands on his shoulders as if they were arguing over him, and all he could think was that he was sorry he'd forced Jack to remove the camera, because he could have asked to keep this.

When Andy pulled back, Ianto began to struggle to get the cuffs of the shirt from his wrists while his fingertips brushed against the front of Jack's trousers. He wanted to smile, because it was perfect, but kept himself in check. "So, there's no one watching the three of us," Andy stated as if he'd been thinking precisely the same kinds of thoughts.

"No." It hadn't been a question, but Jack replied to it anyway, and Ianto could feel the change in him when his voice turned devious. "But if there was…" He smiled, and Ianto felt it as Jack's lips were currently on his throat. It made something in Andy's eyes quicken, and Ianto began to breathe faster again.

"If there was, someone watching us," Andy said quietly, getting with the unspoken fantasy so quickly, his eyes on Ianto. One of his hands dropped to curl around Ianto's ribs, right under his arm, thumb brushing over his nipple so that Ianto lowered his eyes to watch. The pad of Andy's thumb shouldn't feel so rough – but it did. He could almost feel the ridges of his thumbprint catching against the sensitive nub, and it made him want to close his eyes. He fought to keep them open. He only half-won that fight if the way Andy smiled at his reaction was anything to go by.

"What do you think they'd like to see?" Jack murmured wickedly, and Ianto waited for Andy's answer as if it would be the answer to everything. Andy thought about it for a few seconds, eyes straying down to where his thumb kept grazing over that same nipple and Ianto's body was paying close attention, the pleasure moving down rather than to his brain, making him bite his lip.

"Well," Andy said softly, in consideration, and then leaned down into a half-crouch, so that his lips were on the same level as his hand. Ianto watched himself breathing, the eager rise and fall of his chest as his nipple was fractionally nearer to Andy's lips, then drawing away, hearing it, seeing it in slow motion as Andy's tongue came out to touch him there. Oh, God, yes! He thought he might have struggled.

The anticipation was extraordinary. Andy's tongue was a deeper pink than his lips, and shiny wet in the light. Ianto had to fight to keep in the moan when he felt Andy's tongue flick over his nipple. It was wet, and hot, and then Andy rather wickedly _breathed_ on him before kissing him there.

Andy looked up at him from that position for a second, as if hesitant. He was almost fooled, but then Andy's lips parted, and his tongue actually _flickered_, making Ianto gasp and he finally closed his eyes fully as he leaned back against Jack. Only the loss of watching made him open them again, and now Andy was sucking at that one nipple – the other beginning to ache for the same kind of treatment, and he couldn't form words.

He didn't understand for a moment when he saw a hand in Andy's hair, fingering the blond curls slightly. He believed it must be his own, but then realised his hands were trapped, wrists bound behind him in the soft material of his own shirt. It was Jack, encouraging Andy to carry on tormenting him, and his body burned suddenly at the idea of it, at the spectacle it must make. If someone was watching… His fingers were fluttering uselessly against Jack, and now he was getting aroused too. Ianto began to consciously encourage it – feeling slightly satisfied when Jack drew in a breath out of time. It was unfair for them to get him all hot between them when they were both still fully dressed.

Andy stood up then, Jack's hand falling to rest on his shoulder, and after a heated look, it didn't take long for Jack to free him, ending the impasse. He found himself fascinated by Andy as they all got rid of their clothes. There wasn't any playing here. They undressed for a purpose, and by the time they had done a trail of clothes led to the bed where they ended up and Ianto found himself trying to piece together all he knew of Andy so far, trying to make it all fit.

That integrity. His sense of humour, and his dry cynicism. His patience, quiet confidence and the clever questioning. It was all adding up to something wonderful. To someone Ianto wanted to have, to know, to be close to.

But now they had the bed, and this was a time for finding out other things; like the way he breathed when Ianto followed the freckles in a series of kisses from his shoulders and down his back, pausing to bestow a kiss upon each one. How he nearly laughed when Ianto kissed his hand, and then turned serious when he moved his lips up to the inside of his elbow and his bicep. The way he almost moaned when Ianto spent the better part of ten minutes just stroking the backs of his legs with his fingertips.

In truth, Ianto set out to seduce him completely. To make Andy his totally, and Jack seemed happy to help him in that endeavour, dividing his attention between Andy and Ianto but never taking the spotlight, letting them perform for the fantasy observer, reminding them of it occasionally. Ianto took his time – took all the time he could without slowing to a stop, so slow it was almost making love, wanting it to be more than some kind of quick encounter. He wanted it to be something that would last. As if someone was watching, he did everything so that they wouldn't forget, because then neither would Andy…

* * *

Jack watched them for the most part. Well – for the most part he watched Ianto. Something was happening before his eyes. Something he'd seen the potential for the night before, and while he was happy for them to go ahead, he had some inkling about what might happen. Not reservations. He wasn't that kind of guy. But inklings he could do.

Several times he shared searching looks with Andy, but he didn't have the heart to make it more casual and to interrupt Ianto, and even if he did – what would it achieve? Neither of them would understand and he'd end up as the enemy. How had he fallen into this situation? How had any of them? There was a point beyond which people couldn't be controlled – at least not when you loved them the way he loved Ianto. And he couldn't regret that, whatever else he might come to regret.

The temptation itself might be enough to make him participate, but it was more than that. He shouldn't leave them alone… he shouldn't leave Ianto alone – not in the end. And so he couldn't leave them alone now. Not that participation was any kind of sacrifice on his part really…

* * *

Andy knew it was some kind of seduction that was taking place. Knew it and didn't do anything except encourage it. He wanted to give something of himself to this. To Ianto.

For so long he'd been passed over, ignored – even by Gwen when she'd encountered him while with Torchwood. And then Ianto… Ianto had listened to him, hadn't looked through him, not even in the club. Respect bred respect, and Andy had found himself captivated by Torchwood's Ianto Jones. He hadn't expected Ianto to go for the idea of the list at all. And whatever his desires for involvement or for Ianto, the motive for the list was a real one. It was important to him, but he'd mentioned it expecting to be refused. Those names, and the truth of what happened to them. And instead Ianto had agreed to it, getting him involved too. It was more than surprising.

Contrary to what Ianto might think, Andy did have some clue of what he might have risked to buy into it, and there was a moment where Ianto was leaning over him, and he was sure – suddenly – that Ianto could have anything he wanted. He'd give Ianto anything.

From that first moment, seeing him in the club, shirt dirty with red blood and a gleam of dangerous excitement in his eyes, through the words they'd shared there and later on. There was something he recognised in Ianto – they understood each other – and he didn't want to let that slip through his fingers.

And then there was the infamous Captain Jack Harkness. Andy was sure that he wasn't high on Jack's list of priorities. In fact, he kind of got the impression that he could be anyone. With Ianto it was different, and he sensed the difference, wanted to explore it. Why was it even there?

The previous night had been so strange. Jack had made it irresistible. Taking the teasing banter one step further, a step that Andy would never have taken on his own without encouragement, and he still couldn't quite believe he'd done it, except…

The lust between them in the Hub earlier had been devastating and real, and it hadn't been anything to do with Jack. It had been all theirs – all that passion, all that life. Ianto had almost seemed to need him, and he'd wanted it too, just as much if not more.

Was it possible to be seduced into Torchwood when he wanted it so much anyway? Andy suspected it was entirely possible, if Ianto carried on like this. And Jack… well, he had no doubt that Jack could seduce a stone statue. It was probably something to do with his after-shave. He took a deep breath of it, and got a little further carried away.

It had been lingering and sensual so far, and Andy had gone where the two of them led him easily. Almost too easily, and he was so certain he knew what was going to happen that when it finally came to that moment, and he found himself laid on the bed behind Ianto, one hand on his hip while he and Jack kissed, it completely escaped him what it meant.

He knew of course, knew that Jack had been through the same kind of preparation with Ianto as the night before, because he'd watched, but Jack hadn't taken him yet. In his eagerness to be close, he pressed against Ianto, wanting the heat and the sweat, and felt his arousal slide into the cleft between his cheeks, a bit of lubricant there making it slippery. Andy gasped at the sensation, moving his hand up to Ianto's waist in startled pleasure.

He watched the messy kiss between Ianto and Jack, drew in a sharp breath when Ianto just kind of wriggled against his body, making a noise into Jack's mouth and dragging Andy's hand back down to his hip.

Of course, it didn't take Andy long to get it, and yet he hesitated, his eyes on where Ianto held his hand – and then he looked up. They were still kissing, but Jack's eyes were open, dark blue and watching him expectantly.

"Oh, God!" Andy said pointlessly, shocked at what this was. He'd expected to be the one – had been ready to do it, but now it seemed Ianto had something else in mind all along. As had Jack. Ianto pulled away from the kiss and threw his head back, breathing heavy, lips curling back so that Andy could see his teeth. He moved again, demanding this time, making Andy lose control for a second. His hands moved to hold Ianto still, to gain some clarity, and he felt hot skin and muscle beneath his fingers.

"Take me," Ianto ordered, his voice deep and somehow breathy at the same time. Andy closed his eyes for a split second. There was no mistaking this, and yet…

"I haven't," he began haltingly, and Ianto actually shook his head, cutting him off.

"You can't hurt me. You won't. Just do it." His sentences were short, but they were certain and they conveyed all the need from earlier. Andy swallowed, feeling his own breathing intensify as he considered it, feeling the return of that intensity. Breathe – feel for me – live. Jack pulled Ianto's leg up to rest over his own hip, and nodded at the bedside table. Right. Andy understood that when he looked. He reached back quickly and got one of the little foil squares, tearing it open and throwing the empty packet to the side as he willed his hand to stay steady.

He smoothed the thin slippery rubber over himself, rolling it down as Ianto lay exposed and ready before him. He knew what to do, and he just couldn't seem to stop himself. Even his nervous fear of the first time couldn't keep him from doing what Ianto wanted when he begged. He said please, as if he had to, and Andy pressed into him deliberately. He made a noise in his throat as he felt Ianto's body surrounding him, able to look away after so far, and found himself staring at Jack as he let his body take over a bit, doing what came naturally.

He groaned as he felt it happen between them, Ianto encouraging him with movement and grasping at his hand to hold it, clasping their fingers together, some of the lubricant from the condom remaining to make it so that they had to hold each other's hand tighter. "Is this," Andy began, then couldn't continue to speak, because his body was on an inward motion, and it felt so, so good!

"It's what I want," Ianto said on an outward breath, and he'd never sounded so masculine as when his voice was rough with pleasure. It was just easy enough to be like paradise. He looked at Jack again, wondering even in the midst of it all. How could he allow it? How could he allow someone else to take his lover? Jack only smiled and one hand caressed Ianto's flushed face. Ianto's eyes were closed and he grunted every time Andy thrust inside of him, almost as if it hurt.

"Guess what I want," Jack said to Ianto, something wicked in his tone that Ianto apparently understood, because his eyes opened halfway as he moaned. Andy only understood when Jack suddenly moved to lay with his face between Ianto's legs. He could see it from where he was, could see Jack's lips taking Ianto into his mouth, and he saw his own movement there, forcing Jack to take more, getting a kind of shuddering moan from Ianto that Andy could actually feel.

He slowed down, making it last as he watched what Jack was doing, so aware of the delicious whispers that were being torn from Ianto's throat that he let go of Ianto's hand. He reached up to torment the same nipple as earlier between his thumb and forefinger to see if he could win more of them. And when he did, he kissed the back of Ianto's neck.

The beginnings of his own release were close when he felt Ianto's body clench around him as he spilled into Jack's mouth. There was a minute, maybe two, where he carried on while Ianto whimpered and then let go with a groan of desire. Anything he wanted. He'd do anything Ianto wanted.

When it was over, he pulled out, disposing of the condom as Ianto turned to face him. Andy was sure there was something deeper to this than some kind of casual encounter. Ianto looked at him meaningfully then closed his eyes as Jack took his pleasure. Andy watched, watched Jack – and then saw something in his eyes. Andy drew in a breath.

"Where's the camera, then?" he asked with a tilt of his head, and Jack looked slightly put out. Ianto opened his eyes and stretched a little in Jack's grip, making the blue-eyed Captain Harkness forget to glare for a second. Their eyes met, and Ianto's lips twiched. It was almost a smile.

"He's been hiding it from me over there just above the curtains," Ianto said, nodding at them, and Andy laughed.

To be continued…

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you for reading, I hope you had fun. :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, and Andy Davidson do not belong to me, but to Russell T Davies, the BBC, their wonderful writers, and to John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd and Tom Price for being brilliant and gorgeous. I'm just borrowing them, and will put them back in the same condition I found them. I also make no money from this. Please don't sue me. I mean, I think you're all fantastic – why would you want to sue me?

**Author's Notes:**

Ok, here we go again!

First of all, thanks to give out to those lovely people who reviewed the last chapter!

Lady1question79: Thank you! I'm glad you found it erotic, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, though this is plot, I'm afraid.

Hotflower901: Thank you to you, too! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Rai Guyver: Of course he would know. I really think there's very little (if anything) that Jack manages to hide from Ianto.

Baz: Thank you so much for the compliment! I hope you'll like this chapter too!

Potterfan89: Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!

Ok, what else do I need to say?

Thanks go out to LiamHarkness for coming up with Charlotte as a name suggestion, which I then changed to Charlie. But I needed the help, so thank you!

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, especially the scene with Andy at the end. I hope it comes across well. Please let me know if it doesn't. I want to get it right.

And it's Chapter Ten, which means we're about halfway through.

I hope you enjoy it! :)

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

"I can't believe you told him," Jack said, shaking his head as Andy walked up behind the two of them. They hadn't heard the opening of the Hub door, which was interesting, but they were both stood together, staring at the monitor in front of them intently. Ianto had let him in, therefore they must know he was on his way down. But to hear them talking about him stopped him from announcing his presence just yet.

"He would have found out sooner or later," Ianto argued back, and Andy began to worry he was about to disturb something. Obviously, he shouldn't have been told that they kept CCTV footage.

"When did you put it together?" Jack asked, troubled, and Andy did a double-take. So! Jack hadn't known about it either? Intrigued, he padded silently closer to see if he could get a glimpse of what it was they were looking at.

"When _you_ started wanting to draw the curtains," Ianto said, and it was a bizarre thing to say until Andy remembered about the camera in the flat. "It was a dead give-away."

"That obvious, huh?" Jack queried with some disappointment, and Ianto looked up at the ceiling briefly.

"Well, I know you didn't _want_ to draw the curtains, which meant you wanted to stop me from doing it. It wasn't a difficult conclusion to come to that there was something I wasn't supposed to see."

Jack pointed at the screen happily as if none of it mattered. "That's my favourite bit," he said, and Andy peered past them, getting a glimpse of naked skin and suggestive movement. It took a second before he realised he was watching himself from the night before, and he drew in a deep breath that was so loud both Jack and Ianto turned to look at him. Andy smiled at them both and inclined his head, point-blank refusing to feel self-conscious.

"I really like that bit at the beginning," he said, remembering, with a little nod at Ianto's slight smile.

"Which?" Jack queried, and something utterly evil came to life in Andy. He considered for a full three seconds before moving to stand behind Jack and pulling him back before reaching down to the top button of his shirt. He looked at Ianto over Jack's shoulder.

"Right," Andy said to Jack, as if he was about to explain, and then said something he knew was confusing. "You're him, he's me, and I'm you."

Ianto got it immediately, and smirked at him a little as he came forward, helping with the buttons, just like Jack and Andy had done that night, with him. "Yeah?" Jack said, looking down at his shirt, obviously a little taken aback. "Okay…" His voice changed when he realised that he liked it, and Andy found himself smiling at Ianto again over Jack's shoulder as he pulled the shirt down to trap his hands, feeling the braces slip from his shoulders at the same time.

"Oh! Wait…" Jack said as if he'd finally remembered what happened next as Ianto dragged his thumb across Jack's naked left nipple. Ianto fell into a half-crouch, and between them Jack shivered as Andy kissed the back of his neck while Ianto's tongue tormented him. After a minute or so of listening to Jack's heavy, quickened breathing, Andy put a hand around Jack, resting it in Ianto's hair until he stood up, and it fell to his shoulder.

"That was nice. I think we should watch that," Ianto said, and Andy almost laughed.

"Okay," he said happily, well aware of what he was doing when he let Jack go, only for he and Ianto to gather before the monitor as Ianto reviewed the footage.

"I see!" Jack said loudly, resentful, but not enough to be serious. "I'm just like a toy to you!"

"Hardly a boy, though," Ianto pointed out without looking around, and Andy followed the banter easily, arms folded casually as it carried on.

"Go on…" Jack invited with a sweep of his arm, "go ahead… just wind me up!"

"That's a bit old-fashioned," Andy put in with a frown at Jack, then looked to Ianto confidentially. "Doesn't he take batteries?"

"Oh, yeah," Ianto said coolly, and winked, "they're rechargeable."

There was a moment between Jack and Ianto then where Ianto looked at him apologetically. Either Jack didn't see it, or he didn't see the reason for it, because he carried on with the game. Andy would bet on the second, and realised there were things about these two that he couldn't know, things that he might never know. "Yeah," Jack said. "You just have to turn me on."

It was so bad that Andy winced and shook his head a little. Jack glared at him with mock exasperation. "Okay! I can tell when I'm not wanted! Just remember where I am when you're both tired of your own subtlety… I'll show you something obvious, and I bet you _both_ like it then."

They both laughed at that, but it fulfilled an aim, which was apparently an excuse to leave them alone together to work. And they did work, for a while at least.

* * *

The list he and Andy worked on remained and it lengthened over time. Over days that fell into each other, waiting for the time when they were alone again. Over nights of work that were flavoured with coffee and sex and well worn after-shave. Several weeks passed. Andy worked ten-hour shifts in a pattern of four on, and three off. The week of the month he worked nights was kind of vaguely melancholy, until Ianto realised he was missing Andy. And it warmed him when Jack admitted to missing him too.

It was a long list, and they could keep adding to it indefinitely, because the Weevils had been in Cardiff long before there was a Torchwood. He shouldn't look forward to the project so much. He shouldn't want to deal with murder and blood and terror – but he did. Because it meant Andy was back with them for another night.

They didn't do it in bright sunshine or sparkling snow. They didn't say it with flowers. They did it amongst the pictures of the dead, begging to be recognised as victims. They did it amongst the ruined lives of people who would never know anything about them. It shouldn't be there, so easy to find in the devastation, but it was. Just like it had been with Jack. It was there in the midst of the dark, a smidgen of light-hearted… Well, it really shouldn't be fun – but it was.

Balance was in the contrast between the work they did and the fun they had. The silly, scribbled notes they passed to each other while working on case files, the instant messages from Jack's office telling them to stop playing with each other and get back to work, which invariably led to them staring at each other and forgetting about the work completely. The wrestling matches that Jack always won until he and Andy learned to team up against him, and he strongly suspected Jack enjoyed that all the more.

Yet still they were a secret that had to be kept, away from the others and away from Gwen. The Hub had always been a different place when it was just Jack and himself. Now that was doubly true. And after a period of time, Ianto began to realise that for all the others didn't know, Andy was a member of Torchwood. They'd tried to keep the rest of it from Andy at first, but then, inevitably, things began to slip, until he knew as much as any of them knew. There were enough secrets involved, really.

He relished their mornings, waking up, the three of them together and it was so good there had to be a law against it, but Andy assured him there wasn't any such law. Sitting on the side of the bed, waking Jack up with Andy sat behind him, arms linked loosely around his waist and chin resting on his shoulder – it was like Heaven. Discovering things with Andy was like discovering them for himself again, and Jack was with them too. Wasn't there a societal taboo? Wasn't one of them required to be jealous – at least a little?

He'd faced Jack with it one day – asked him outright – and he'd received an answer so honest it made him think on it for hours.

"Does he change who you are when you're with me? Does he change us?" Jack had asked, as if he already knew the answer, and Ianto had answered with an instant reassuring negative, because of course it didn't change anything. He and Jack were… well, forever, in as far as forever could last.

Ianto experienced it all, and he asked himself the question for days, still slightly uneasy until it occurred to him that choice was an illusion. The idea of choosing between Jack and Andy was as ridiculous as choosing between the moon and the stars. They both gave different things to the night. He and Jack were good. He and Andy were good. Jack and Andy were good. And all of them together, well – they were brilliant. Choice was not only an illusion, it was a limit, and he knew very well that Jack didn't do limits.

* * *

The darkened streets weren't his alone. Somewhere out there, Chris (his new partner since Gwen left) was shadowing his own route on the other side of the little maze of alleys. As he walked, Andy fingered the personal mobile phone in his pocket. There was a time it would have been his radio in case Gwen needed him, but not now, not anymore. He smiled just very slightly, remembering, anticipating the night to come. On afternoons, he was usually off work by midnight, which was just over an hour away, and he knew where he would go. Not home. Not anymore.

When had the text messaging started? He couldn't remember, but he knew he wouldn't be happy now without it. Another monotonous shift, in every hour moving the local kids off from somewhere else, reassuring old ladies who really called because they wanted someone to talk to, not because they were worried about whatever noise it was they heard. He found himself watching the people just down the road who spilled out of the pub there and skirmished with each other for taxis and perceived slights. He eyed up a few of the more aggressive men and tilted his head slightly. Probably need to go and sort that out first, before he went anywhere.

Funny. There wasn't a manual anywhere in existence that was titled: How to bring down a six-foot twenty-five stone man drunk on lager with nothing but a yellow jacket and a small plastic stick. He kind of thought there should be one.

Just to put it off for a little longer, he checked the phone when it vibrated, and saw the first new message of the night. He thought about it for all of a millisecond before deciding that the message from Ianto was definitely more important. No one was watching him, anyway. He pressed the button to read it.

_I'm watching you. Right now. And I'm wondering – when are you going to do some real work?_

Andy shook his head slightly and laughed under his breath. Ianto was the only person he knew who put correct punctuation in text messages. He never abbreviated any words either. He wanted to answer, but the aforementioned work called, just down the road, so he satisfied himself with muttering sarcastically about the law regarding surveillance of employees under his breath. To his surprise, the phone vibrated in his hand, and he thumbed the button again.

_I can lip read._

Another surprising talent. Andy looked up – straight ahead – and his quick eyes caught a tiny blinking red light. He smiled, checked he was alone, and then mouthed at the camera: "Have a look down the road. Any ideas on how to subdue that lot?"

A few seconds later the phone vibrated, and he glanced down to it from the camera.

_Well, I can show you how best to subdue Jack, but I wouldn't suggest you try any of that on them. Back to work – for the both of us. See you soon, not later._

Yeah, right. With a deep breath, Andy gave a kind of casual salute to the CCTV camera and headed off down the road, meeting up with his partner Chris as he did. By the time they got there, though, there was a riot van, and the crowd had calmed considerably. Enough so that after around forty minutes or so, there were only stragglers still shouting the odds at them from halfway down the street. The disturbance had already been radioed in, so he checked his watch and reckoned on moving the local kids on from the off license down the road for one last time before going off shift.

"You need me, Andy?" Chris asked, and Andy just gave him a slightly reproachful look.

"Do I need you to help me deal with Josh and the others?" he said rhetorically, as if considering. "No, I think I'll be fine. The most they'll do is try and offer me a drink of their cider." Chris laughed and Andy nodded. "Go on and get gone. Sign me out while you're there and I'll get straight off from moving them on."

"Will do. See you tomorrow." Andy nodded and watched Chris walk away to their patrol car. He'd take it back to the station. Andy didn't want to go all the way back there. He didn't want there to be any delays between him and Torchwood when midnight came along in the next twenty minutes or so.

The streets were dark once Chris and the headlights had disappeared around a corner. And with the pub's lights flicking off one by one, Andy found himself alone in the night as he walked back up along the maze of alleys with just the occasional streetlight for company.

There was a scream.

It wasn't an overdone scream. It didn't pierce the night. It was the kind of involuntary panicked scream people came out with when they were also self-conscious and covering their mouth. In his experience, people rarely screamed out loud without being aware of the noise they were making. He walked quickly in search of it, and what he found had him standing in the mouth of the tiny, darkened alley for just a brief second.

There were two women. One of them was on the ground, quite still. The other – well, she was the one who'd screamed, because she turned large, frightened eyes on Andy who immediately held out his hands in a calming gesture as he walked forward, scanning the shadows for any possible danger that might be lurking, trying not to make assumptions.

The area clear, he kept his eyes on the first girl as he knelt by the side of the other. They didn't look as though they were together. "I'm Andy," he said, reassuring and coaxing. "What's your name?" he asked, still looking up.

"Ch-charlie," she stammered, caught between looking at him and the girl on the floor. Andy found his gaze flitting down, to see how bad it was. He caught his breath silently. Even in the weak streetlight that reached them, there was a lot of blood, but she was still breathing. He observed so many things, his training kicking in so that he hardly had to think about it. He picked his radio out of his belt as he looked up at the girl who'd called herself Charlie. She was terrified, probably just a passer-by who'd come upon the mess.

"Okay, Charlie," he said, his voice in control, soothing, "I need your help, all right?"

The girl nodded hesitantly. "Can you give me your scarf?" he asked, gesturing at it encouragingly, and she looked a little surprised. He would have asked for something else, but he didn't think there would be anything in that tiny bag of hers. He held his hand out as she pulled it from around her neck – a floaty thin cotton thing, but it would work. He took it from her and began folding it into a compress. The girl watched him, wide-eyed and trembling. She wouldn't be able to help with this.

"Right," Andy said, looking at her again, keeping his tone carefully low and calm. "I need you to do something else. There's going to be an ambulance, and some policemen. Now, they're going to be looking for us, so I want you to stand at the end of the alley and tell them where we are, all right?"

He pointed towards the brightly lit street at the end of the alley, watched for the girl's relief, and smiled a little when he saw it, along with the gladness at being useful. "Can you do that for me?" he asked, and she nodded. He watched her begin to walk away before paying attention to the girl at his knees. Again, he checked the shadows for danger, knowing that if danger was here, Charlie was likely walking away from it.

He gingerly pressed the makeshift bandage to the wound in the girl's neck, applying pressure and thumbing on his radio.

"Charlie Bravo One, this is PC one-eight-six. We have an emergency. Over."

"Come in, one-eight-six. Over."

"We'll need an ambulance, and CID here. It's an alley just off the western end of Smith Street at the junction with Queen's Road. I've one victim of a violent attack. A girl in her mid to late twenties with severe lacerations on her neck and abdomen. She's lost a lot of blood, but she's conscious," he said, seeing her open eyes looking at him. "The attacker appear to have fled the scene. No description. There's a possible female witness. We're going to need someone from victim support." He considered the width of the alley. "Access is limited, and I'd suggest it's left to the ambulance. Over."

"Understood, one-eight-six. They're on their way. We've got your GPS up here. We know where you are. Over."

"Thanks. I'll leave the channel open, but I'm attempting first aid. Over."

"Go ahead, one-eight-six. I'll keep you updated on progress, but it shouldn't be more than a few minutes. Over."

Emergency called in, he turned his full attention to the girl, keeping the pressure over the wound in her neck. "My name is Andy," he repeated, this time for her benefit. Can you speak? Can you tell me your name?"

The girl pulled in a breath that shouldn't rattle the way it did. She gurgled at him a little, and he immediately shushed her. "It's all right. I'm going to help you. I'm going to look after you." She seemed to calm a little at that, and he considered, looking around a bit. There wasn't a handbag. "I'm going to put my hand into your pocket, all right?"

The girl nodded her understanding, a movement he felt in his hand rather than saw, and he took it as permission, slipping his hand into her jeans pocket and coming out with her ID. Driving licence, some kind of store card, and a blood donor card. But the information he wanted was on all of them.

"All right. Is it Laura?" The girl attempted a weak smile, and Andy smiled back at her. "Don't worry, Laura. You're going to be all right. I promise." He was somewhat surprised when she shook her head minutely. "What is it?" he asked, trying to avoid looking around.

"Evan," she said clearly, swallowing and then drawing in another of those rattling breaths as if it had cost her to say just that one word. "Son."

Andy flicked a little further through the ID, finding a picture of the girl with a little boy. He showed it to her. "Evan?" he queried, and she swallowed again, looking panicked.

"It took him! Oh, God, it… Evan…" She closed her eyes, as if for good, and Andy resisted the urge to shake her.

"Laura? You have to try to stay awake. Help me to help you. Stay awake just for a bit longer."

Laura reached up to grab his arm, with more strength than he would have imagined. He supposed it might be the fear in her eyes when she opened them. "It was a monster!" she said, a tear falling from her eye and trickling down the side of her face into her ear. "It was a monster, and it took him! It took Evan!"

Something cold and chilling settled in the base of his spine at her words. He remembered all of those case files they'd been looking at, and here he was in the middle of one. He knew what she'd seen all right. He'd been taken down to the cells by Jack and seen them up close. A monster. He remained professional though, despite the dread, and squeezed her hand reassuringly with his free one, trying to ignore the coppery smell of her blood as it rose in the air around them in the filth of the alley.

"Try not to think about it. When we get him back, Evan will want his Mum, so you just try and be calm. Try and stay awake until the ambulance gets here. Can you do that for him?" She looked like she didn't believe him, the way he didn't believe himself, but nodded, not saying anything further, and Andy let her hand go to pick up the radio.

"Charlie Bravo One, this is one-eight-six. Let the paramedics know we have a blood type of A Positive." He stared down at the picture. It was recent. "The victim will need an emergency transfusion. And it's likely that the suspect has taken a small child. Male, Caucasian, four or five years old, short dark hair, brown eyes, named Evan. Over."

He took the girl's hand again to wait with her for the paramedics as his information was acknowledged, and they looked at each other. What had she been doing here with a small child? As if in answer, she began to speak, and he didn't hush her because it meant she was awake.

"Rob took the car," she said, reliving something from earlier, and Andy just watched her, keeping the pressure on the scarf that was already soaked through with warm blood. "We argued, about his mother of all things. I told him to fuck off, and he took the car. I said we'd walk. It never would have…" She shuddered. "It's my fault! It took Evan and it's my fault…" she breathed. Andy sighed.

"Now don't talk like that," Andy said, feeling useless.

"No… It's _his_ fault! It never would have attacked us if he'd been there," she answered, and Andy raised an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't it?" he asked, and the girl turned blue eyes on him. He could see they were blue now because there were lights at the end of the alley. The ambulance was backing in while paramedics raced to where they were. No time for anything else.

"It was a monster," she said, and he couldn't lie. But he couldn't say he knew, so he said nothing, and it was an admission he hoped she was too far gone to notice.

He let himself be pushed back and away by the paramedics as they went to work, and he gave as much as he knew to the CID policemen that attended the scene with them. He was tired, but it wasn't over. This was his now, and that was confirmed when he'd determined that Charlie was being taken care of by the WPCs in Witness Liaison.

"You all right to carry on, Andy?" the attending DI asked, and Andy nodded, rubbing his neck a little, looking around at Laura to find her conscious and speaking to the paramedics. He caught his name. He was a friendly face, and she'd need him.

"Yeah," he said, "I just need to make a personal call." He held up his mobile and was nodded off to a more quiet area away from the commotion. As soon as he was sure no one could hear him he called. The phone rang once, twice, and then was picked up.

"Yep?" came the voice, sounding part worried, part wary, and Andy smiled genuinely, happily. Well, he was late now.

"Ianto," he said, happy just to say it, then he continued, his heart heavy as he shared it. "I've got a weevil victim, still alive, but just barely."

"Where?" Ianto asked immediately, the concern being replaced with businesslike precision. He knew immediately he'd called Ianto for help, and it was going to come. He told Ianto where the victim had been found, and explained about the missing child. Ianto was quiet for a second or two, until Andy prompted him.

"We're on it," he said, his words clipped and short, meaning him and Jack. "If it's possible – we _will_ get him back." Andy nodded thankfully, thinking Ianto wouldn't see it, remembering that he probably could. There was a full silence between them on the line. He wanted to say something else, but they were putting Laura in the ambulance, and they were all looking to him, expectant, paramedics and policemen alike.

"I have to go," Andy said quickly, his voice low and husky with something that was more than mere gratitude.

"Me too." And then Ianto was gone. Andy closed the phone and agreed readily to take the ambulance, which was worth it for the relief when Laura saw him, and she reached out for his hand. He nodded and sat with her while the ambulance drove them to hospital and he told her not to be afraid, and that it would be all right. He hoped he was telling the truth.

She didn't speak again until they got there.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you for reading if you're still with me. I hope you enjoyed it! :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Andy stayed with her until he couldn't, until he was pushed away in the hospital by a swarm of doctors and nurses, pushed back while her frightened eyes sought his across the crowded curtained cubicle.

It felt like hours after that, and the time passed slowly, the way it did in all hospitals. It was hours. Hours of giving the same statement again and again to CID, knowing that in a little room somewhere else, Charlie was going through the same thing. Knowing that even now, Laura was being asked to remember – and he wanted to stop them, because what possible good could it serve to make her relive it?

Something must have changed in his demeanour when he retold how Laura had said it was a monster, because the interviewer returned to that again and again, but there was nothing he was hiding or forgetting. There was nothing, and for a moment, he almost believed it himself.

If he had been asked, he might have said that he'd have imagined in this moment to feel slightly superior, smug or privileged. He didn't feel any of those. All he wanted was to return to her side, and sit with her while they waited. He itched to call Ianto and find out what was happening – what had happened – but he couldn't, not yet.

As it turned out, the injury to Laura's neck wasn't as bad as it had appeared in the alley, and she stabilised after the transfusion, became comfortable enough that she was moved to a private room in a quieter part of ICU, and there Andy sat with her while she slept. Well, she was unconscious at least. Eventually, he got up and walked out of the room, heading out into the corridor.

As he got a coffee, he thought about Ianto, out there somewhere. His hand rested on his phone, as he considered nipping out of the hospital for a minute, but then someone joined him at the machine. Now, the only people still present were hospital staff and police officers. Andy took in the plain clothes, and met the man's gaze levelly.

"Monsters!" the CID man said with a frustrated bang of his hand against the side of the machine, and Andy just watched, saying nothing. "Not again!" There was something about his hopeless attitude that made Andy think of the list he and Ianto were working on. He almost wished he could say it. Belatedly, he realised he was holding two coffees, and didn't know who he'd got the other one for.

"That's what she said," Andy noted, feeling awkward and not superior at all. He looked into the other man's eyes, and knew that even if he were told the truth, he wouldn't believe it. Might not believe it even if it was shown to him. Andy didn't feel privileged. He felt alone. And when it was all over, now, when all there was to do was wait, he realised who the coffee was for, and headed off down the corridor with a single nod of his head.

* * *

"I can't drink it," said a croaky but feminine voice from the bed as he quietly re-entered the room, and Andy smiled, shrugged a little. He took a deliberately deep swallow from his own cup and grimaced.

"Don't worry. I think they only put it here to even the misery out a bit." She laughed at that, and then moaned. Andy put a hand out, rested it over hers. A while ago, someone had come to intensive care and was waiting outside the room even now, waiting to be granted access.

Rob was in his late-thirties, but he was the kind of bloke who'd always be a boy. He had that look about him. And now, when his world seemed to be falling apart, he seemed young and old all at the same time.

"Are you sure you won't see him?" Andy asked, encouraging. "You could always make him drink the coffee for you." Laura laughed again, more gently, and shifted under the sheets.

"Is it that bad?" she asked.

"I know someone who wouldn't even warm his hands with it," he confided, and she smiled, then her face became serious.

"Why should I see him? He left us there!" She shuddered suddenly, and the monitor picking up her heartbeat increased in tempo a fraction. "It was a monster," she said slowly, with certainty, surely for the hundredth time, and Andy was caught by the look she gave him.

She had several broken ribs, and bruising to her back and chest. He knew how that had happened, and couldn't imagine the horror of it. Pulled into the embrace of one of those things, crushed close and helpless, feeling it bite into flesh. She must have seen her own death for an instant.

She wasn't going to be remembering this. Andy knew that Jack would come along, or someone else, and as soon as Laura could drink coffee, she'd forget the previous night. He knew it to be a mercy when he looked at her now.

It was a monster, as she said. Her eyes demanded something. Andy looked at her, and they were alone. He was alone, and he dropped his eyes, unable to face her. She didn't have any need to be alone, not right now, not when she was going to forget anyway. What difference could it make to show a little kindness? "I know," he said softly after some consideration, and her eyes widened when he looked back at her.

"You saw it," she breathed in a kind of horror. "Andy." His name sounded strange from her lips, but it made her next question so personal that he almost wished he had seen something. "Did it have him?"

"No," Andy said, holding his hand up to ward off the questioning. "I didn't see it, but I know…" It was the most difficult confession of his life. He hoped he wasn't about to make things worse. "I know they're real."

He waited, for Laura to make a scene, to necessitate him withdrawing the truth in favour of â€˜humouring' her, and then she surprised him by speaking so quietly he almost didn't catch the words. "Last night, I told Evan that monsters weren't real. He's always been so scared of the dark." She laughed shakily. "Silly! I hugged him and I told him that the only real monsters were bad people." Andy swallowed some more of the coffee. It didn't help. "He believed me," Laura whispered. "He believed me and I was wrong. And now, no one believes me… and I'm right!"

"Laura –" he began, and she cut him off before he could say anything further.

"No!" she said forcefully, her eyes burning so that he looked away again. "You know, so you can save him! You're not like them," she insisted, tilting her head to indicate the other officers who'd been sat with her tonight. He shook his head in a kind of alarmed hurt. "Please," she intoned seriously, the voice of the mother. "Don't leave him out there alone." Suddenly he wanted to shiver. They shared something between them that was made of fear and all the things that might be in the dark.

"I can't," he said in the end, hating it that he was stuck here, when he needed to know what was happening out there.

"Please!" He could admit to knowing about what had attacked her, but he couldn't breathe a word about Torchwood. They were out there now, and he knew he needed to find out what was happening. He drew in a breath and stood up, hating the way she trusted him because he really feared the worst.

"Give me ten minutes," he said, giving her an earnest look. "Don't say anything."

"I think I've said enough," Laura said with a little bitterness, her voice soft and tired. Andy sighed, closed his eyes for a second, and then left the main hospital to go outside.

Even in the dead of night, hospitals were busy places. They were busier than police stations, and he drew more than one look in his police uniform as he walked outside, already turning the mobile back on. His radio he had, and he'd been able to keep it on whilst inside, but his radio wouldn't give him what he needed.

Andy walked a little away from the crowd of smokers gathered at the outside doors and brought up the number on speed dial. He held the phone to his ear and prayed for it to be picked up. It was, on the third ring.

"Andy," Ianto's voice said, a little breathless. There was Jack shouting in the background, and a horribly familiar growling.

"I need to know," Andy said straight away, hoping Ianto would know what he meant. Like he had to be worried.

"He's fine," Ianto said immediately. "He's on his way to you right now, he should be there already, actually. Jack sent him with a policewoman. Chatty little kid, though he can't remember anything."

"Jack's doing?"

"No. He's got a slight concussion. A bang on the head, and we think he's probably blocked it all out. He keeps asking for his mother. Is she…?"

"Waiting for him. Thank you," he said, and again there was that moment where he wanted to say so much more.

"Yep," Ianto said, distracted as Andy heard Jack shouting in the background. "Got to go!"

"Later," he answered with a faint smile, and he almost ended the call when Ianto answered him, that hint of teasing in his voice.

"Sooner than that."

Andy grinned. "I'll try," he said, and then ended the call, turning around to go back into the hospital and realising something incredible. Evan was on his way. He was safe!

* * *

By the time he made it back to ICU, it was to be greeted with a sight that would stay with him for weeks. A thankful Rob was on his knees in the corridor outside Laura's room, clinging to a small, dark-haired child as if he would never let him go.

"Shall we go and see Mummy?" Rob asked in a husky voice, and Evan bobbed his head happily. Really, the man looked like he'd aged twenty years in one night, with his eyes red-rimmed and his face pale. Andy watched them walk into the room, and heard the glee that followed as he tried to squash the smile on his face. Almost casually, he walked past the door, glancing in to see them all together. Laura seemed to sense him, and her eyes sought his from inside, peering past her son to where Andy stood at the door.

"Thank you," she mouthed silently at him, and Andy nodded.

He'd thought it was over then, but when they left her to her rest, there was a sudden commotion, and the hospital came to life again as doctors rushed into the room. She didn't make it. Internal injuries, they said, and he knew she had waited. He was glad that at the very least, she hadn't waited in vain.

* * *

He stopped the car somewhere he could hear the cascading water, and leaned forward, still holding onto the steering wheel, keys jangling slightly in his grip as he rested his head against his hands. His breath moved in and out of his lungs easily in the stillness, accompanied by the muted sound of the waterfall through the windows. It made the air he breathed taste cool and fresh, but that was probably just in his mind.

It wasn't his tragedy, and it wasn't his miracle that had brought Evan back like that. He was just an observer. Hard to be impartial, though, because he was human, and he sighed once as he tried to sort out the jumble in his head. In a few weeks or months, it would fade into the background, and he'd get more careless about it. Cold, maybe. But not now. Now, he sighed.

Eventually, he remembered where he was, and got out of the car, slamming the door and turning on the alarm without a second thought as he looked about him. Belatedly, he remembered he was still in uniform, but that didn't matter. His eyes drifted back to the car, and he saw his yellow jacket on the backseat. It wasn't needed. He wouldn't be out in the cold for long.

He stared out towards the bay for a long moment, and then his eyes drifted eastward, where the black of the night sky was tinged with a deep blue. A reminder that dawn would come. A new day. Andy walked towards the one door that he could knock on now; never giving a thought to what was concealed behind it or the secrets it kept. That didn't matter. It was who was there. That was what mattered to him.

He reached it without incident, the cool breeze playing with his hair as it moved around the wide-open space in front of the centre. With another heartfelt sigh, he leaned against the door, and pressed his fingers wearily to the button on the intercom. There was a buzz, and then a crackling that meant the line was open, though surely whoever was inside could see him.

"Let me in," he said simply, and there was another buzz. This time it meant that the door was unlocked, and he grasped the handle, turning it and letting himself inside. When he made it in, his body registered the welcoming warmth of the office, that scent of something that reminded him of a library, and he closed his eyes as he closed the door, leaning back against it for a moment before looking across the office.

Ianto.

He still stood on the other side of the desk, gazing back, immaculately dressed, which meant he must have changed since he and Jack returned from… well… One of his hands was still casually hovering over the desk where Andy knew there was the button to release the door. He felt the smile on his face before he was really aware he was doing it. Just smiling at Ianto, remembering that moment when they'd brought Evan in – unharmed, seeing the reunion and their happiness all again.

There was an answering smile from Ianto. Not an obvious one. Just a kind of twinkle in his eye as he stared back at Andy across the distance between them. Victory; and quite suddenly there couldn't be any distance at all.

They moved at the same time, meeting up with each other in the middle of the office, surrounded by pictures and brochures of beautiful places to visit. Amazing. There wasn't anything more beautiful in all of Cardiff at that moment but Ianto. He was a marvel. A masterpiece. Andy appreciated the suit, even though it made him aware of his own uniform again. He reached out, just to touch, cupping Ianto's face in his hands, and God! He could have this!

He'd called, and Ianto had answered. Ianto. Who had then gone out and rescued a child from a monster like a hero in some kind of story. A little of his jubilation shone through, sparkling in his mind, and it made him smile again. It felt too good.

"I just…" he came out with eventually, and then couldn't continue. He didn't know what to say. How could he even begin? Ianto just looked at him, composed and cool before his regard. He could feel the warmth of Ianto's skin under his fingertips, could surely feel the rush of his pulse and he knew the steady gaze was a trick, because Ianto's heart was racing – as was his.

Ianto was his. It was a wondrous thought. He cottoned on to that and it still felt too good as he began a kiss. But it wasn't his kiss alone. Ianto held him close, kissed him back, answered the desire with some of his own, and Andy laughed at the feeling of power that swept through him. Together, it felt like they could achieve anything – make things right, and tonight for the shortest of moments, between them they had.

It had been bittersweet until now, until he'd come here to say… what? To say thank you for the help? There was a life that would be lived because of Ianto and what he had done.

"I wanted to…" Andy began and again he didn't know how he'd intended to finish the sentence. He felt Ianto's lips dragging on the side of his neck as they embraced each other.

"I know what you want," Ianto said into his ear secretly, as if in reassurance, and there was a suggestion in it that couldn't be ignored. They hadn't done it the way Ianto was suggesting, in all this time. But then, everything, changed around and reordered, because it could be. Do it! Andy actually felt his heart miss a beat as he imagined it, thrilled to the thought of it. And then he knew Ianto was right.

"Yes!" he said, truly longing for it. "Oh, God, yes!"

Ianto chuckled and drew back far enough for them to take each other in, a look to him that Andy had seen a hundred times before, only now he understood. Ianto was capable and confident, and he could let go, because Ianto could handle the responsibility. It would be good, after the long night, to let it rest with someone else. And he saw something else in Ianto that Jack already knew all about.

"So," Ianto said, teasing. "That's a yes then, is it?"

For a second, Andy felt far too vulnerable, and he drew in a deep, shaky breath, still wanting to give all of that terrible responsibility away. "It's a please, if you want it," he said, quite serious, and something in Ianto's eyes darkened as the teasing disappeared.

"All right," he said, nodding a little, and it felt good to be in his arms. Just to be with him. To be held, and to be known, and to trust so much that he couldn't be afraid.

He knew Jack was there before he said anything, moving close in behind him, putting him in the middle when usually it was Ianto who ended up between them. Ianto looked past him to Jack as Andy leaned his head back, letting Jack kiss him, and feeling a return of that surge of power. The victory was his as much as it was Ianto's. It was theirs.

"We don't have time for this," Jack said, quiet but sure, and there was a moment of icy foreboding before he continued. "At least not here. We'll go straight to Ianto's. Everything is powered down already."

"I'll drive," Andy said. "The car needs to be moved." If it was seen and recognised, then there'd be questions. Questions none of them wanted or needed.

_To be continued…_

**Author's Note: **Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.


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